r:NRLF 


301    021 


UAr 


HERE   At 


University  of  California. 


:    :::  iro  Ai'e^J  or  &  wee^-  Before  the  end  of>t! 


IDRARY 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


MAN   AND   BEAST 


HERE  AND   HEREAFTER. 


ILLUSTRATED   BY   MORE   THAN  THREE   HUNDRED 
ORIGINAL  ANECDOTES. 


BY  THE 

REV.  J.  G.  WOOD,  M.A.,  F.L.S., 

AUTHOR  OF  "HOMES  WITHOUT  HANDS,"  &c. 


I  canna  but  believe  that  dowgs  hae  sowls." 

JAMES  HOGG,  the  Ettrick  Shepherd. 


NEW     YORK: 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN    SQUARE. 

1875- 


BIOLOGY 

LIBRARY 

G 


BY  J.  G.  WOOD. 


HOMES  WITHOUT  HANDS :  being  a  Description  of  the  Habitations  of  Animals,  classed 
according  to  their  Principle  of  Construction.  By  J.  G.  WOOD,  M.  A.,  F.L.S.,  Author  of  "  Il- 
lustrated Natural  History."  With  about  140  Illustrations  engraved  on  Wood  by  G.  PEAR- 
SON, from  Original  Designs  made  by  F.  W.  KEYL  and  E.  A.  SMITH,  under  the  Author's 
Superintendence.  8vo,  Cloth,  $4  50 ;  Sheep,  $5  oo ;  Half  Calf,  $6  75. 

the  magnitude  of  the  results  compared  with  the  slen- 
derness  of  the  materials  attainable.  According  to  this 
definition,  many  animals  exhibit  far  more  than  in- 
stinct—they show  genius  in  the  construction  of  their 
homes.  But  it  is  only  when  we  study  them  on  some 
such  connected  plan  as  that  furnished  by  Mr.  Wood 
that  we  gradually  become  irresistibly  impressed  by 
sheer  cumulative  force,  rather  than  direct  proof,  with 
the  absurdity  of  the  popular  talk  about  blind  instinct, 
and  can  not  help  seeing  the  large  amount  of  downright 
solid  intellect  which  birds  and  beasts  bring  to  bear  on 
the  construction  of  their  homes — Spectator,  London. 


Mr.  Wood's  classification  of  the  habitations  of  ani- 
mals opens  up  so  wide  and  connected  a  perspective 
into  the  psychology  of  the  animal  creation  that  it  pos- 
sesses quite  a  peculiar  interest  and  fascination.  The 
facts  that  rats  and  mice  live  in  holes,  and  birds  make 
nests,  taken  in  an  isolated  way,  leaves  little  impres- 
sion upon  the  imagination  of  the  master-builder  man, 
druuk  with  his  own  glories,  who  looks  with  pity  and 
contempt  upon  dwellings  and  contrivances  which,  if 
not  in  grandeur,  at  all  events  in  delicacy  of  adaptation 
and  ingenuity  of  workmanship,  rival  bis  own.  Nie- 
bnhr  said  somewhere  or  other  that  genius  is  seen  in 


PUBLISHED  BY  HARPER  &  BROTH  R-RS,  NEW  YORK. 


HARPER  &  BROTHERS  will  send  the  above  work  by  mail,  postage  prepaid,  to  any  part  of  the 
United  States  or  Canada,  on  receipt  of  the  price. 


PREFACE. 


IN  the  opening  of  Bishop  Butler's  "Analogy  of  Religion"  the  following 
passage  occurs,  showing  that  this  eminent  divine  considered  the  lower  ani- 
mals as  capable  of  a  future  life :  "  It  is  said  these  observations  are  equally 
applicable  to  brutes;  and  it  is  thought  an  insuperable  difficulty  that  they 
should  be  immortal,  and  by  consequence  capable  of  everlasting  happiness. 
Now  this  manner  of  expression  is  both  invidious  and  weak;  but  the  thing 
intended  by  it  is  really  no  difficulty  at  all,  either  in  the  way  of  natural  or 
moral  consideration." 

The  Bishop  then  refers  to  the  "  latent  powers  and  capacities  "  of  the  lower 
animals,  and  sees  no  reason  why  they  should  not  be  developed  in  a  future 
life.  In  the  present  work,  I  have  endeavored  to  carry  out  his  train  of 
thought,  and  to  show  that  the  lower  animals  do  possess  those  mental  and 
moral  characteristics  which  we  admit  in  ourselves  to  belong  to  the  immortal 
spirit,  and  not  to  the  perishable  body. 

The  scheme  of  the  book  is  briefly  as  follows.  I  begin  with  clearing  away 
the  difficulties  which  arise  from  two  misunderstood  passages  in  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, and  prove  that  the  Scriptures 'do  not  deny  a  future  life  to  the  lower 
animals.  I  then  show  that  the  lower  animals  share  with  man  the  attributes 
of  Reason,  Language,  Memory,  a  sense  of  Moral  Responsibility,  Unselfishness, 
and  Love,  all  of  which  belong  to  the  spirit  and  not  to  the  body ;  and  that  as 
man  expects  to  retain  these  qualities  in  the  next  world,  there  is  every  reason 
to  presume  that  the  lower  animals  may  share  his  immortality  hereafter  as 
they  share  his  mortality  at  present. 

In  order  to  prove  that  animals  really  possess  the  above-mentioned  qualities, 
I  cite  more  than  three  hundred  original  anecdotes,  all  being  authenticated  by 
the  writers,  and  the  documents  themselves  remaining  in  my  possession. 

'     J.  G.  W. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAOB 

I.  THE  TESTIMONY  OF  REVELATION 9 

II.  REASON  AND  INSTINCT 16 

III.  REASON — (continued)     .      .     . 24 

IV.  REASON — (concluded) 32 

V.  LANGUAGE  [OF  ANIMALS] 39 

VI.  LANGUAGE  [HUMAN] „     .     50 

VII.  MEMORY 60 

VIII.  GENEROSITY .68 

IX.  CHEATERY 75 

X.  HUMOR 79 

XI.  PRIDE,  JEALOUSY,  ANGER,  REVENGE,  TYRANNY 89 

XII.  CONSCIENCE 97 

XIII.  SYMPATHY  AND  FRIENDSHIP 104 

XIV.  LOVE  OF  MASTER 114 

XV.  CONJUGAL  LOVE 126 

XVI.  PARENTAL  LOVE 128 

XVII.  THE  FUTURE  STATE  136 


-v 

UHIVBRSITV, 

**          c 

&ZF 


MAN    AND    BEAST. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE   TESTIMONY  OF   KEVELATION.' 

The  Future  of  the  Lower  Animals,  as  popularly  supposed  to  be  Taught  in  the  Scriptures.— The  "Beasts  that 
perish."— If  the  Literal  Sense  of  the  Scriptures  alone  be  taken,  the  Future  Life  of  Man  is  repeatedly  denied 
in  the  Books  of  Psalms,  Job,  and  Ecclesiastes.— The  Necyomanteia  of  Homer  compared  with  the  Psalms 
and  Ecclesiastes.— The  Future  State  of  Man  according  to  Horace.— Comparison  of  the  Renderings  of  Psa. 
xlix.  20  (the  "beasts  that  perish")  in  the  Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin, English  (Douay  version), German,  Spanish, 
Italian,  French,  Chaldaic,  Syriac,  and  Arabic  Versions.— Subject  of  Psa.  xlix.,  and  the  Real  Signification  of 
the  Concluding  Verse.— Opinions  of  Correspondents.— The  "Spirit  of  the  Beast  that  goeth  downward  to 
the  Earth."— Subject  of  the  Book  called  Ecclesiastes.— Teaching  by  means  of  Irony.— Distinction  between 
the  Spirit  of  Man  and  that  of  the  Lower  Animals. 


IN  dealing  with  a  subject  of  this  nature — name- 
ly, the  spiritual  condition  of  the  animals  inferior 
to  Man — it  is  clear  that  we  must,  in  the  first  place, 
refer  to  the  Scriptures,  from  which  is  derived  all 
our  authentic  knowledge  of  spiritual  life. 

There  is  a  popular  belief — I  should  rather  say 
a  popular  tradition  —  that  somewhere  in  the 
Scriptures  we  are  taught  that,  of  all  living  in- 
habitants of  earth,  Man  alone  possesses  a  spirit, 
and  that  therefore  he  alone  survives  in  spirit 
after  the  death  of  the  material  body.  If  this 
were  true,  there  would  be  no  room  for  argument 
to  those  who  profess  to  believe  the  Scriptures 
literally,  and  to  base  their  faith  upon  that  literal 
belief;  and,  however  such  a  statement  might 
seem  to  controvert  all  ideas  of  benevolence,  jus- 
tice, and  even  common -sense,  such  believers 
would  be  bound  to  receive  it  on  trust,  and  to 
wait  for  a  future  time  in  which  to  understand  it. 

Many  persons  go  so  far  as  to  deny  to  animals 
even  the  possession  of  Reason,  and  only  attribute 
to  them  the  power  of  Instinct,  while  there  are 
comparatively  few  who  do  not  believe  that  when 
an  animal  dies,  its  life-principle  dies  too — that 
the  animating  power  is  annihilated,  while  the 
body  is  resolved  into  its  various  elements  so  as 
to  take  form  in  other  bodies. 

This  belief  is  almost  entirely,  if  not  wholly, 
due  to  two  passages  of  Scripture,  one  being  in 
the  Psalms,  and  the  other  in  Ecclesiastes.  The 


former  is  that  which  is  generally  quoted  as  de- 
cisive of  the  whole  question.  It  runs  in  the  au- 
thorized version  as  follows  :  ' '  Nevertheless,  man 
being  in  honor,  abideth  not ;  he  is  like  the  beasts 
that  perish  "  (Psa.  xlix.  12,  20). 

The  Prayer-book  version  is  somewhat  differ- 
ent, but  is  yet  translated  much  to  the  same  effect. 
"  Man,  being  in  honor,  hath  no  understanding, 
but  is  compared  to  the  beasts  that  perish." 

The  second  passage  occurs  in  Ecclesiastes  iii. 
21 :  "Who  knoweth  the  spirit  of  man  that  goeth 
upward,  and  the  spirit  of  the  beast  that  goeth 
downward  to  the  earth." 

On  the  strength  of  these  two  passages,  we  are 
called  upon  to  believe  that  when  a  beast  dies,  it 
dies  forever,  and  that  its  life  is  utterly  extin- 
guished as  is  the  flame  of  an  expired  lamp.  Now 
every  one  who  has  had  even  a  slight  acquaintance 
with  the  exposition  of  Scripture  is  aware  that 
nothing  is  more  dangerous  than  attempting  to 
explain  any  passage,  however  simple  it  may  ap- 
pear to  be,  without  making  a  reference  to  the 
original  text.  The  translator  may  have  mis- 
taken the  true  sense  of  the  words  ;  or  he  may 
have  insufficiently  expressed  their  signification ; 
or,  owing  to  a  change  in  the  meaning  of  words, 
a  passage  may  now  bear  on  its  surface  an  exact- 
ly contrary  sense  to  that  which  it  conveyed  when 
it  was  first  written. 

However,  we  will  lay  aside  that  point  for  the 


10 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


present,  and  accept  fhe1  passage  as  it  stands,  to- 
gether with  the  literal  signification  of  the  words 
as  generally  understood. 

There  will  then  be  no  doubt  that  we  must  be- 
lieve that  beasts  have  no  immortal  life.  But,  if 
we  are  to  take  the  literal  sense  of  the  Bible,  and 
no  other,  we  are  equally  bound  to  believe  that 
Man  as  well  as  beast  has  no  life  after  death. 

See,  for  example,  Psa.  vi.  5 :  "In  death  there 
is  no  remembrance  of  thee :  in  the  grave,  who 
shall  give  thee  thanks  ?" 

Also,  Psa.  Ixxxviii.  10,  11,  12  : 

' '  Wilt  thou  show  wonders  to  the  dead  ?  Shall 
the  dead  arise  and  praise  thee  ? 

"  Shall  thy  loving-kindness  be  declared  in  the 
grave,  or  thy  faithfulness  in  destruction  ? 

"  Shall  thy  wonders  be  known  in  the  dark, 
and  thy  righteousness  in  the  land  of  forgetful- 
ness  ?" 

Also,  see  Psa.  cxv.  17  :  "  The  dead  praise  not 
the  Lord,  neither  any  that  go  down  into  silence." 

Also,  Psa.  cxliii.  3  :  "  For  the  enemy  hath 
persecuted  my  soul ;  he  hath  smitten  my  life 
down  to  the  ground  ;  he  hath  made  me  to  dwell 
in  darkness,  as  those  that  have  been  long  dead." 

Also,  Psa.  cxlvi.  3,  4 : 

"  Put  not  your  trust  in  princes,  nor  in  the  son 
of  man,  in  whom  there  is  no  help. 

"  His  breath  goeth  forth,  he  returneth  to  his 
earth  ;  in  that  very  day  his  thoughts  perish." 

If  we  are  to  take  the  Scriptures  solely  in  their 
literal  sense,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  their  mean- 
ing. The  whole  range  of  heathen  literature  con- 
tains nothing  more  gloomy,  dreary,  or  more  de- 
spondent in  the  contemplation  of  death.  "Let 
us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die,  "would 
be  a  fit  result  of  such  a  belief. 

In  the  very  book  in  which  occurs  the  single 
passage  on  which  is  based  the  denial  of  the  im- 
mortality of  the  lower  animals  are  five  passages 
which  proclaim  the  same  end  to  the  life  of  man. 
We  are  told  distinctly  and  definitely  that  those 
who  have  died  have  no  remembrance  of  God, 
and  can  not  praise  him.  Death  is  described  as 
the  "land  of  forgetfulness  " — the  place  of  dark- 
ness, where  all  manjs  thoughts  perish.  Can 
more  than  this  be  said  of  the  * '  beasts  that  perish  ?" 

Now  we  will  leave  the  Psalmist,  and  proceed 
to  other  writers.  Treating,  not  of  the  wicked, 
but  of  mankind  in  general  who  "  dwell  in  houses 
of  clay,"  the  writer  proceeds  as  follows :  "  They 
are  destroyed  from  morning  to  evening  ;  they 
perish  forever,  without  any  regarding  it"  (Job 
iv.  20). 

Take  another  passage  from  the  same  book,  a 
passage  which  is  even  more  definite  in  its  state- 
ment :  "As  the  cloud  is  consumed  and  vanish- 


eth  away,  so  he  that  goeth  down  to  the  grave 
shall  come  up  no  more  "  (Job  vii.  9). 

Again — 

"Man  dieth,  and  wasteth  away:  yea,  man 
giveth  up  the  ghost,  and  where  is  he  ? 

"As  the  waters  fail  from  the  sea,  and  the  flood 
decayeth  and  drieth  up  : 

"  So  man  lieth  down,  and  riseth  not "  (Job 
xiv.  10,  11,  12).  And  ver.  14  :  "  If  a  man  die, 
shall  he  live  again  ?" 

See  also  the  piteous  wail  of  Job  over  his  life 
as  shown  in  chap.  iii.  and  x.  In  the  first  he 
complains  that  he  was  ever  born,  that  being  was 
ever  given  to  him,  that  he  was  ever  taken  out  of 
a  state  of  absolute  nonentity.  In  the  second  he 
repeats  the  same  lamentation,  with  the  addition 
that  even  death  can  bring  no  relief  to  his  suffer- 
ings except  extinction. 

"  Wherefore,  then,  hast  thou  brought  me  forth 
out  of  the  womb  ?  Oh  that  I  had  given  up  the 
ghost,  and  no  eye  had  seen  me  ! 

"I  should  have  been  as  though  I  had  not  been ; 
I  should  have  been  carried  from  the  womb  to  the 
grave. 

"  Are  not  my  days  few  ?     Cease  then,  and  let 
me  alone,  that  I  may  take  comfort  a  little, 
'  "  Before  I  go  whence  I  shall  not  return,  even 
to  the  land  of  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death ; 

"  A  land  of  darkness,  as  darkness  itself;  and 
of  the  shadow  of  death,  without  any  order,  and 
where  the  light  is  as  darkness  "  (Job  x.  18-22). 

Turning  to  the  Book  of  Ecclesiastes,  in  which 
occurs  the  solitary  passage  which  is  held  to  dis- 
prove the  immortality  of  the  lower  animals,  we 
find  the  following  passages,  which  are  even  more 
emphatic  as  to  the  future  state  of  man  : 

"  I  said  in  my  heart  concerning  the  estate  of 
the  sons  of  men,  that  God  might  manifest  them, 
and  that  they  might  see  that  they  themselves  are 
beasts. 

"For  that  which  befalleth  the  sons  of  men 
befalleth  beasts ;  even  one  thing  befalleth  them. 
As  the  one  dieth,  so  dieth  the  other ;  yea,  they 
have  all  one  breath,  so  that  a  man  has  no  pre- 
eminence over  a  beast :  for  all  is  vanity. 

"All  go  unto  one  place;  all  are  of  the  dust, 
and  all  turn  to  dust  again"  (Eccles.  iii.  18,  19, 
20). 

Also  in  ch.  ix.  5  :  "For  the  living  know  that 
they  shall  die,  but  the  dead  know  not  any  thing, 
neither  have  they  any  more  a  reward,  for  the 
memory  of  them  is  forgotten." 

Also  in  ch.  ix.  10:  "Whatsoever  thy  hand 
findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy  might ;  for  there  is 
no  work,  nor  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor  wisdom 
in  the  grave  whither  thou  goest." 

Taking  the  literal  sense  of  these  words  and  no 


THE  TESTIMONY  OF  REVE. 


other,  it  is  impossible  to  doubt  their  import. 
They  state  definitely  that,  as  regards  a  spiritual 
life,  there  is  no  distinction  between  man  and 
beast ;  and  that  when  they  die,  all  go  to  the 
same  place.  The  writer  also  distinctly  states 
that  after  death  man  can  work  nothing,  know 
nothing,  nor  can  receive  any  reward.  The  same 
vein  of  irrepressible  sadness  that  characterizes 
the  extracts  taken  from  the  Psalms  is  prominent 
in  those  passages  from  Job  and  Ecclesiastes ; 
and  if  from  these  alone  we  were  to  deduce  our 
ideas  of  the  condition  of  man  after  death,  most 
sad  and  hopeless  would  be  the  very  thought  of 
dissolution. 

It  is  true  that  we  do  not  accept  them  in  this 
light,  knowing  that  they  are  written  symbolically 
or  parabolically,  and  that  there  underlies  them 
the  spiritual  sense  of  which  St.  Paul  speaks 
when  he  contrasts  the  life-giving  spirit  with  the 
death -dealing  letter  (2  Cor.  iv.  6).  With  that 
meaning,  however,  we  have  in  the  present  case 
nothing  to  do.  We  are  only  concerned  with  the 
literal  meaning  of  our  translation,  and,  accord- 
ing to  that  literal  meaning,  if  we  take  two  texts 
to  prove  that  beasts  have  no  future  life,  we  are 
forced  by  no  less  than  fourteen  passages  to  be- 
lieve that  Man,  in  common  with  beasts,  has  no 
future  life.  We  have  no  right  to  pick  and  choose 
which  passages  we  are  to  take  literally,  and  which 
symbolically,  but  must  apply  the  same  test  to  all 
alike,  and  treat  all  in  the  same  manner. 

Let  us  pass  for  a  while  from  sacred  to  secular 
literature.  All  my  classical  readers  must  be  fa- 
miliar with  that  wonderful  eleventh  book  of  Ho- 
mer's "Odyssey"  generally  called  the  Necyo- 
manteia,  or  Invocation  of  the  Dead.  In  this 
strange  history  Ulysses  is  shown  as  descending 
into  the  regions  inhabited  by  departed  spirits, 
for  the  purpose  of  invoking  them  and  obtaining 
their  advice  as  to  his  future  adventures. 

He  sails  to  the  boundaries  of  the  ocean,  and 
lands  in  the  country  of  the  Cimmerians,  who 
dwell  in  perpetual  cloud  and  darkness,  and  in 
whose  country  are  the  gates  leading  to  the  re- 
gions of  the  dead.  He  utters  solemn  prayers 
and  invocations,  offers  sacrifices,  and  pours  their 
blood  into  a  trench  of  a  cubit  square,  which  had 
been  consecrated  for  that  purpose.  Straightway 
there  throng  around  the  trench  the  spirits  of  the 
dead,  eager  to  drink  the  blood,  and  so  to  be  able 
to  hold  converse  with  one  who  was  still  a  deni- 
zen of  the  upper  world.  See  Pope's  version  of 
the  passage : 

"Thus  solemn  rites  and  holy  vows  we  paid 
To  all  the  phantom  nations  of  the  dead. 
Theu  died  the  sheep ;  a  purple  torrent  flowed, 
And  all  the  cavern  smoked  with  streaming  blood. 


When  lo !  appeared 

Thin,  airy  shoals  of  visionary  Q\ 

Fair  pensive  youths  and  soft  enamored  maids, 

And  withered  elders,  pale  and  wrinkled  shades : 

Ghastly  with  wounds,  the  forms  of  warriors  slain 

Stalked  with  majestic  port,  a  martial  train : 

These  and  a  thousand  more  swarmed  o'er  the  ground, 

And  all  the  dire  assembly  shrieked  around."° 

The  hero  stands  over  the  trench,  defending  it 
with  his  sword  from  the  hosts  of  the  dead,  and 
only  allowing  the  spirits  to  drink  the  blood  one 
by  one.  Thus  he  converses  with  the  spirits  of 
his  companions  Elpenor  and  Tiresias,  then  sees 
his  mother  Anticlea ;  and  at  last  the  spirit  of 
Achilles  approaches.  The  dialogue  between  the 
inhabitant  of  the  earth  and  the  denizen  of  the 
regions  of  the  dead  must  be  quoted  entire  : 

"Through  the  thick  gloom  his  friend  Achilles  knew, 
And  as  he  speaks  the  tears  dissolve  in  dew. 

'Comest  thou  alive  to  view  the  Stygian  bounds, 
Where  the  wan  spectres  walk  eternal  rounds; 
Nor  fear'st  the  dark  and  dismal  waste  to  tread, 
Thronged  with  pale  ghosts  familiar  with  the  dead  ?' 

To  whom  with  sighs,  'I  pass  these  dreadful  gates 
To  seek  the  Theban,  and  consult  the  Fates ; 
For  still  distressed  I  rove  from  coast  to  coast, 
Lost  to  my  friends  and  to  my  country  lost 
But  sure  the  eye  of  Time  beholds  no  name 
So  blessed  as  thine  in  all  the  rolls  of  fame ; 
Alive  we  hailed  thee  with  our  guardian  gods, 
And,  dead,  thou  rulest  a  king  in  these  abodes.' 

'Talk  not  of  ruling  in  this  dolorous  gloom, 
Nor  think  vain  words  (he  cried)  can  ease  my  doom. 
Rather  I'd  choose  laboriously  to  bear 
A  weight  of  woes  and  breathe  the  vital  air, 
A  slave  to  some  poor  hind  that  toils  for  bread, 
Than  reign  the  sceptred  monarch  of  the  dead." 

Coleridge  well  remarks  of  this  passage,  and 
indeed  of  the  whole  of  the  Necyomanteia,  that  it 
is  "  remarkable  for  the  dreary  and  even  horrible 
revelations  which  it  makes  of  the  condition  of 
the  future  life.  All  is  wild  and  dark ;  hunger 
and  thirst  and  discontent  prevail.  We  hear 
nothing  of  elysian  fields  for  piety  or  wisdom  or 
valor,  and  there  is  something  quite  deadening  in 
the  answer  of  the  shade  of  Achilles  to  the  con- 
solation of  Ulysses. " 

Gloom,  misery,  and  vain  regrets  for  earth  per- 
vade the  whole  of  this  episode : 

'  Now,  without  number,  ghost  by  ghost  arose, 
All  wailing  with  unutterable  woes. 
******  *          • 

But  swarms  of  spectres  rose  from  deepest  hell 
With  bloodless  visage  and  with  hideous  yell. 
They  scream,  they  shriek ;  and  groans  and  dismal 

sounds 

Stun  my  scared  ears,  and  pierce  hell's  utmost  bounds. 
No  more  my  heart  the  dismal  din  sustains, 
And  my  cold  blood  hangs  shivering  in  my  veins." 

These  are  the  ideas  of  a  heathen  poet  concern- 
ing the  future  state  of  man.  It  is  no  wonder 
that  sensual  pleasures  should  be  held  the  chief 


12 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


object  in  the  life  of  man,  when  he  is  to  look  for- 
ward to  such  a  future  as  this  —  a  future  from 
which  neither  wisdom  nor  virtue  nor  piety  could 
save  him  —  an  eternity  of  gloom,  darkness,  re- 
pining, and  hopeless  despondence. 

Yet,  sad  as  is  this  picture  of  the  heathen  poet, 
it  is  far  brighter  than  that  of  the  Psalmist,  the 
Preacher,  or  Job. 

Those  who  have  passed  into  the  world  of  spir- 
its do  not  at  all  events  forfeit  their  individuality 
by  death.  The  youth,  the  maiden,  the  elder, 
and  the  matron  are  distinguished  in  the  spirit 
as  they. had  been  in  the  flesh;  and  those  who 
had  lost  their  lives  in  honorable  battle  retain 
the  stern  port  and  martial  demeanor  of  the 
earthly  warrior. 

Memory  is  still  left  to  the  dead.  They  re- 
member their  earthly  career ;  they  do  not  lose 
their  interest  in  their  friends  who  still  remain  on 
earth  ;  and,  above  all,  Love  survives.  Anticlea 
retains  her  maternal  love  for  Ulysses,  for  loss  of 
whom  she  died ;  and  she  watches  over  the  wel- 
fare of  Penelope  and  Telemachus.  The  spirits 
hold  converse  with  each  other.  Those  who  have 
been  friends  on  the  upper  earth  resume  their 
friendship  in  the  lower  regions.  Haughty,  self- 
willed,  discontented  in  death  as  in  life — "Impi- 
ger,  iracundus,  inexorabilis,  acer  " — Achilles  still 
receives  some  solace  in  the  constant  companion- 
ship of  his  friend  Patroclus. 

But,  if  we  are  to  take  literally  the  passages 
of  Scripture  which  have  been  quoted,  no  such 
consolation  exists  in  the  future  state  of  man, 
who  passes  at  death  into  a  place  of  darkness, 
forgetfulness,  and  silence,  where  is  no  work, 
nor  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor  wisdom— where 
even  nis  very  thoughts  perish.  If  these  passages 
are  to  be  understood  in  their  pure  literal  sense, 
there  is  no  other  interpretation  to  be  put  upon 
them ;  for  the  statements  are  too  explicit  to  be 
explained  away  or  even  softened. 

According  to  the  outward  sense  of  their  writ- 
ings, the  Psalmist,  Job,  and  the  Preacher  are 
very  much  on  a  par  with  Horace  in  their  abso- 
lute unbelief  in  a  future  existence,  and  the  vein 
of  melancholy  which  in  consequence  underlies 
their  utterances.  Take,  for  example,  Whittier's 
short  and  brilliant  analysis  of  the  philosophy  of 
Horace  as  supposed  to  be  spoken  by  a  friend  : 

"Speaking  of  Horace,  he  gives  us  glowing 
descriptions  of  his  winter  circles  of  friends,  where 
mirth  and  wine,  music  and  beauty,  charm  away 
the  hours,  and  of  summer- day  recreations  be- 
neath the  vine-wedded  elms  of  the  Tiber,  or  on 
the  breezy  slopes  of  Soracte ;  yet  I  seldom  read 
them  without  a  feeling  of  sadness. 

"A  low  wail  of  inappeasable  sorrow,  an  un- 


dertone of  dirges,  mingles  with  his  gay  melodies. 
His  immediate  horizon  is  bright  with  sunshine ; 
but  beyond  there  is  a  world  of  darkness,  the  light 
whereof  is  darkness.  It  is  walled  about  by  the 
everlasting  night.  The  skeleton  sits  at  his  table ; 
a  shadow  of  the  inevitable  terror  rests  upon  all 
his  pleasant  pictures.  He  was  without  God  in 
the  world ;  he  had*  no  clear  abiding  hope  of  a 
life  beyond  that  which  was  hastening  to  a  close. 
Eat  and  drink,  he  tells  us  ;  enjoy  present  health 
and  competence ;  alleviate  present  evils,  or  forget 
them,  in  social  intercourse,  in  wine,  music,  and 
sensual  indulgence  •;  for  to-morrov/  we  must  die. 
Death  was  in  his  view  no  mere  change  of  con- 
dition and  relation ;  it  was  the  black  end  of  all. 

"It  is  evident  that  he  placed  no  reliance  on 
the  mythology  of  his  time,  and  that  he  regarded 
the  fables  of  the  Elysian  Fields,  and  their  dim 
and  wandering  ghosts,  simply  in  the  light  of 
convenient  poetic  fictions  for  illustrations  and 
imagery. 

"Nothing  can,  in  my  view,  be  sadder  than  his 
attempts  at  consolation  for  the  loss  of  friends. 
Witness  his  Ode  to  Virgil  on  the  death  of  Quin- 
tilius.  He  tells  his  illustrious  friend  simply  that 
his  calamity  is  without  hope,  irretrievable  and 
eternal;  that  it  is  idle  to  implore  the  gods  to  re- 
store the  dead ;  and  that,  although  his  lyre  may 
be  more  sweet  than  that  of  Orpheus,  he  can  not 
reanimate  the  shadow  of  his  friend,  nor  persuade 
the  'ghost-compelling  god'  to  unbar  the  gates 
of  death.  He  urges  patience  as  the  sole  resource. 
He  alludes  not  unfrequently  to  his  own  death  in 
the  same  despairing  tone. 

"In  the  Ode  to  Torquatus — one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  touching  of  all  he  has  written — he 
sets  before  his  friend,  in  melancholy  contrast,  the 
return  of  the  seasons,  and  of  the  moon  renewed 
in  brightness,  with  the  end  of  man,  who  sinks  into 
the  endless  dark,  leaving  nothing  behind  save  ash- 
es and  shadows.  He  then,  in  the  true  spirit  of  his 
philosophy,  urges  Torquatus  to  give  his  present 
hour  and  wealth  to  pleasures  and  delights,  as  he 
had  no  assurance  of  to-morrow." 

Compare  this  analysis  with  that  of  the  Psalm- 
ist, Job,  and  the  Preacher,  and  the  result  will  be 
found  to  be  the  same  in  all  the  cases — namely, 
an  inability  to  believe  in  a  future  life,  and  a  con- 
sequent desire  to  snatch  what  fleeting  pleasures 
the  world  can  give,  before  the  inevitable  Fates 
consign  him  to  dark  oblivion. 

It  may  seem  rather  startling  to  compare  the 
teachings  of  a  Greek  idolatrous  heathen  and  of 
a  Latin  Epicurean  heathen  with  those  of  sacred 
writers.  Still  more  startling  is  it  to  show  that 
the  teachings  of  the  Epicurean  sensualist  are  no 
worse  than  those  of  the  Scriptural  writer,  while 


THE  TESTIMONY  OF  REVELATION. 


18 


those  of  the  Greek  poet  are  very  much  better. 
It  is,  however,  the  fact,  and,  if  we  are  to  be  bound 
by  the  literal  meaning  of  the  Scriptures,  there  is 
no  possibility  of  denying  it  without  doing  violence 
to  reason  and  ordinary  common-sense. 

Now,  however,  we  come  to  the  point  which 
was  mentioned  on  page  9.  Does  the  author- 
ized version  give  a  full  and  correct  interpretation 
of  the  Hebrew  text?  It  certainly  does  not. 
There  is  no  change  in  the  significance  of  the 
words,  there  is  no  mere  insufficiency  in  the 
translation,  but  the  rendering  is  absolutely  and 
entirely  wrong.  The  word  "perish"  does  not 
occur  at  all  in  the  Hebrew  text,  nor  is  even  the 
idea  expressed.  The  words  which  our  transla- 
tion twice  renders  as  "  beasts  that  perish"  are 

in   the   Hebrew    W5    tvrarM,  ».  e.,  "dumb 

beasts."  On  comparing  a  number  of  transla- 
tions of  Psalm  xlix.  into  various  languages,  I  find 
that  scarcely  any  of  them  even  imply  the  idea 
of  perishing  in  the  sense  of  annihilation.  First, 
we  will  take  the  "Jewish  Bible,"  which  is  ac- 
knowledged to  be  the  best  and  closest  translation 
in  our  language,  and  which  has  been  made  by 
Dr.  Benisch,  under  the  supervision  of  the  Chief 
Rabbi.  Both  in  verses  12  and  20  the  transla- 
tion is  as  follows : 

"Man  that  is  in  honor,  and  understandeth 
this  not,  is  like  the  beasts  that  are  irrational." 
A  foot-note  gives  the  word  "  dumb,"  as  an  alter- 
native reading  for  "  irrational." 

The  Septuagint  has  very  much  the  same  read- 
ing, the  verse  ending  with  these  words,  "  Trapa- 
(rvvffiXriQti  roTg  KTi]vevi  TOIQ  avor\roiq"  This  is 
the  Vatican  text.  Sir  Lancelot  C.  Lee  Brunton's 
translation  of  the  Septuagint  runs  as  follows : 
"Man  that  is  in  honor  understands  not;  he  is 
compared  to  the  senseless  cattle,  and  is  like 
them." 

Here  is  the  Vulgate : 

"  Comparatus  est  jumentis  insipientibus,  et  si- 
milisfactus  est  illis." 

In  Wycliffe's  Bible,  which  is  a  translation  from 
the  Vulgate,  the  passage  is  thus  rendered : 

"A  man  whanne  he  was  in  honour  understood 
not ;  he  is  comparisound  to  unwise  beestis,  and 
is  maad  lijk  to  tho." 

The  "Douay"  Bible,  «.  e.,  the  translation  of 
the  English  Roman  Catholic  College  of  Douay, 
being  the  version  which  is  accepted  by  that 
branch  of  the  Church  in  England,  renders  the 
passage  as  follows  : 

"  Man,  when  he  was  in  honor,  did  not  un- 
derstand ;  he  hath  been  compared  to  senseless 
beasts,  and  made  like  to  them." 

The  Ethiopian  version,  as  read  by  means  of  a 


Latin  translation,  is  nearly  the  same  as  the  Vul- 
gate. 

The  French  and  Italian  are  the  only  two 
which  resemble  our  version.  The  former  runs 
thus : 

"  L'homme  qui  est  en  honneur,  et  qui  n'a  point 
d'intelligence,  est  semblable  aux  betes  qui  peris- 
sent.  " 

The  Italian  is  as  follows  : 

"  L'uomo  che  e  in  instato  onorevole,  e  e  non 
ha  intelletto,  simile  alle  bestie  che  periscono." 

There  is  a  curious  Chaldaic  version  of  the  pas- 
sage, which,  according  to  a  Latin  translation, 
adds  a  few  words  by  way  of  explanation,  and, 
in  these  words,  places  ivicked  men  and  beasts 
on  the  same  level  of  nothingness  after  death.  I 
have  placed  the  additions  in  brackets : 

"Homo  [sceleratus]  in  tempore  quo  subsistet 
in  honore,  non  intelligit ;  cum  removetur  gloria 
ejus  ab  eo,  comparator  bestiag  [et  redigitur  in  ni- 
hilum]." 

Into  some  other  translations  a  new  idea  is  im- 
ported. Take,  for  example,  Luther's  Bible : 

"  Kurz,  wenri  ein  Mensch  in  der  Wiirde  ist, 
und  hat  keinen  Verstand,  so  fahret  er  davon,  wie 
ein  Vieh." 

So  the  Spanish : 

"El  hombre  quando  esteba  en  honor,  no  lo 
intendio  ;  ha  sido  comparado  a  las  bestias  insen- 
satas,  y  se  ha  hecho  semejante  a  ellas." 

The  Arabic  is  almost  exactly  the  same  as  the 
Spanish,  but  ends  with  the  word  Alleluia,  which 
is  not  in  the  Hebrew. 

The  Syriac  version,  according  to  the  Latin 
translation,  conveys  a  similar  idea : 

"Homo gloriam  suam non  intellexit, sed  aequa- 
vit  se  animanti  et  similis  factus  est  ei." 

Even  supposing  that  the  word  "perish"  is 
rendered  correctly,  it  does  not  follow  that  an- 
nihilation is  signified.  Take,  for  example,  the 
tenth  verse  of  the  same  Psalm  in  the  same  ver- 
sion : 

"  For  he  seeth  that  wise  men  die,  and  like- 
wise the  fool  and  the  brutish  person  perish,  and 
leave  their  wealth  to  others." 

Surely  no  one  would  interpret  this  passage  as 
a  declaration  that  the  wise  and  fools  and  the 
brutish  had  no  life  after  the  death  of  the  body. 

The  last  verse  of  the  Psalm  is,  as  Luther  puts 
it,  a  summary  of  the  whole  poem.  The  Psalm- 
ist draws  a  vivid  picture  of  the  true  object  of 
man's  life  in  this  world,  and  the  tendency  of 
man  to  forget  it.  He  sets  forth  the  shortness 
of  human  life,  and  shows  that  neither  wealth, 
rank,  nor  fame  can  endure  after  a  man  dies,  all 
these  things  belonging  to  the  mere  earthly  life 
of  man.  Consequently,  men  who  set  their  hearts 


14 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


upon  these  earthly  things  ignore  the  honor  of 
their  manhood,  and  degrade  themselves  to  the 
level  of  the  dumb  beasts,  whose  aspirations  are, 
as  far  as  we  know,  limited  to  this  present  world. 

It  will  be  seen,  therefore,  that  we  may  dismiss 
from  our  minds  the  idea  that  the  beasts  are  said 
by  the  Psalmist  to  have  no  future  life,  and  that 
we  may  reject  the  passage  as  being  totally  irrel- 
evant to  the  subject.  It  is  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance that  this  should  be  done,  as  the  passage 
in  question  is  the  only  one  which  even  appears  to 
make  any  definite  statement  as  to  the  future  con- 
dition of  the  lower  animals. 

Some  years  ago,  when  writing  my  "Common 
Objects  of  the  Country,"  I  ventured  to  doubt  the 
truth  of  the  popular  belief  on  this  subject,  and 
was  rather  surprised  at  the  result.  Almost  every 
periodical  which  gave  a  notice  of  the  book  quoted 
the  passage,  and,  with  only  one  or  two  exceptions, 
more  or  less  approved  of  it.  The  exceptional 
cases  were  those  of  distinctly  religious  publica- 
tions, and  they  of  course  brought  against  me 
"the  beasts  that  perish." 

I  was  also  inundated  with  letters  on  the  sub- 
ject. Many,  of  them  were  written  by  persons 
who  had  possessed  favorite  animals,  and  who 
cordially  welcomed  an  idea  which  they  had  long 
held  in  their  hearts,  but  had  been  afraid  to  ex- 
press. Many  were  from  persons  who  were  seri- 
ously shocked  at  the  idea  that  any  animal  lower 
than  themselves  could  live  after  the  death  of  the 
body. 

Some  were  full  of  grave  rebuke,  while  others 
were  couched  in  sarcastic  terms. 

Two  are  specially  worthy  of  notice.  The  one 
contains  twelve  pages  of  closely  written,  full-sized 
letter-paper,  in  which  the  writer  tells  me  that  any 
one  who  cherished  the  hope  that  animals  could 
live  after  death  was  unworthy  of  his  position  of  a  ! 
clergyman,  ought  to  be  deprived  of  his  university 
degrees,  and  expelled  from  the  learned  societies 
to  which  he  belonged.  This  argument  was  so  un- 
,  answerable  that  I  did  not  venture  to  reply  to  it. 

The  writer  of  the  second  letter  remarked  that, 
whatever  I  might  say,  he  would  never  condescend 
to  share  immortality  with  a  cheese-mite.  I  re- 
plied that,  in  the  first  place,  it  was  not  likely  that 
he  would  be  consulted  on  the  subject ;  and  that, 
in  the  second  place,  as  he  did  condescend  to  share 
mortality  with  a  good  many  cheese-mites,  there 
could  be  no  great  harm  in  extending  his  conde- 
scension a  step  further. 

But,  no  matter  whether  the  writers  agreed  with 
me  or  not,  no  matter  whether  they  were  sympa- 
thetic, severe,  or  sarcastic,  they  invariably  men- 
tioned "the  beasts  that  perish."  Some  wished 
to  know  how  it  was  possible  to  get  over  a  pas- 


sage which  had  always  prevented  them  from  in- 
dulging in  the  hope  that  the  animals  which  they 
had  loved  on  earth  would  have  a  future  life ; 
while  others  brought  forward  ' '  the  beasts  that 
perish  "  as  a  crushing  and  conclusive  argument, 
of  which  they  evidently  supposed  me  to  be  en- 
tirely ignorant. 

The  reader  will  therefore  see  how  important 
it  is  that  the  true  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  text 
should  be  known,  and  that  the  Psalmist  should 
not  be  accredited  with  putting  forward  a  doc- 
trine to  which,  whether  true  or  false,  he  makes 
no  reference  whatever. 

Having  thus  disposed  of  the  "beasts  that  per- 
ish," let  us  turn  to  the  passage  in  Ecclesiastes, 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  is  the  only  one  which 
has  any  direct  reference  to  the  future  state  of 
the  lower  animals. 

"Who  knoweth  the  spirit  of  man  (or  the  sons 
of  man)  that  goeth  upward  (or  ascending),  and 
the  spirit  of  the  beast  that  goeth  downward  to 
the  earth  ?"  (Eccles.  iii.  21). 

We  have  here,  at  all  events,  an  admission  that, 
whether  the  spirit  ascend  or  descend,  both  man 
and  beasts  do  possess  spirits — the  Hebrew  word 
being  the  same  in  both  cases.  There  is  no  dif- 
ference in  the  various  translations,  and  the  ren- 
dering in  the  Jewish  Bible  is  verbatim  the  same 
as  that  of  our  authorized  version.  We  will  take 
the  entire  passage,  and  not  only  an  isolated  text : 

"I  said  in  mine  heart  concerning  the  estate  of 
the  sons  of  men,  that  God  might  manifest  them, 
and  that  they  might  see  that  they  themselves 
are  beasts. 

"For  that  which  befalleth  the  sons  of  men  be- 
falleth  beasts ;  even  the  one  thing  befalleth  them : 
as  the  one  dieth,  so  dieth  the  other;  yea,  they 
have  all  one  breath  ;  so  that  a  man  hath  no  pre- 
eminence above  a  beast :  for  all  is  vanity. 

"All  go  to  one  place  ;  all  are  of  the  same  dust, 
and  all  turn  to  dust  again. 

"Who  knoweth  the  spirit  of  man  that  goeth 
upward,  and  the  spirit  of  the  beast  that  goeth 
downward  to  the  earth  ? 

"Wherefore  I  perceive  that  there  is  nothing 
better  than  that  a  man  should  rejoice  in  his  own 
works  ;  for  that  is  his  portion :  for  who  shall 
bring  him  to  see  what  shall  be  after  him  ?"  (Ec- 
cles. iii.  18  to  end  of  chapter). 

The  sad,  contemptuous  irony  of  the  first  three 
chapters  of  the  book  tells  its  own  story.  Wheth- 
er or  not  this  book  be  the  production  of  Solomon 
in  his  later  years  matters  very  little.  It  well  may 
be  so,  for  it  is  the  confession  of  one  who  has  pos- 
sessed well-nigh  all  that  earth  can  give  him,  and 
who  has  lived  to  see  its  emptiness.  Indulgence 


THE   TESTIMONY  OF  REVELATION. 


ir, 


has  been  avenged  by  satiety,  and  the  writer's 
summary  of  life  is  contained  in  the  despondent 
avowal,  "Vanity  of  vanities,  all  is  vanity." 

Self-reproach  for  a  wasted  life  breathes  in  ev- 
ery page  of  this  book  ;  and  the  Preacher,  speak- 
ing from  his  own  experience,  shows  that  wealth, 
glory,  pleasure,  and  even  wisdom  are  in  them- 
selves but  utter  emptiness.  Practically  the  theme 
is  the  same  as  that  of  the  forty-ninth  Psalm, 
though  the  two  writers  handle  it  in  opposite 
ways.  The  Psalmist  approaches  the  subject  with 
grave  solemnity,  warning  his  hearers  of  the  brev- 
ity of  human  life,  and  showing  that  if  man  for- 
gets the  glory  of  his  manhood,  made  in  the  im- 
age of  God,  he  places  himself  on  the  level  of  the 
dumb  beasts. 

The  Preacher  takes  a  different  view  of  the 
case,  though  he  comes  to  the  same  conclusion. 
Employing  biting  sarcasm  instead  of  solemn 
warning,  he  first  shows  the  utter  emptiness  of 
all  worldly  and  selfish  pleasures,  and  the  miser- 
able end  of  the  voluptuary,  and  then  ironically 
advises  his  readers  to  place  their  whole  happiness 
in  them. 

Briefly,  this  is  the  argument :  Suppose  any 
one  may  say  that  this  is  living  a  mere  animal 
life,  what  of  that  ?  Who  could  be  expected  to 


know  that  the  spirit  of  beasts  is  inferior  to  that 
of  man,  and  that  the  spirit  of  man  was  made  to 
soar  above  earthly  things,  while  that  of  beasts  is 
limited  to  them  ? 

The  bitter  irony  is  evident,  and  through  the 
book  this  idea  repeatedly  occurs  under  various 
forms. 

But  by  no  manner  of  interpretation  can  the 
twenty-first  verse  mean  that  beasts  are  annihi- 
lated after  death,  while  men  rise  again.  The 
writer  ironically  assumes  that  his  readers  do  not 
know  the  difference  between  the  spirit  of  man 
and  that  of  beast,  and,  arguing  from  that  assump- 
tion, advises  them  to  live  a  mere  animal  life. 

"There  is  nothing  better  for  a  man  than  that 
he  should  eat  and  drink,  and  that  he  should  make 
his  soul  enjoy  good  in  his  labor." 

I  have  already  shown  that  the  former  of  these 
passages  does  not  even  contain  the  idea  of  anni- 
hilation as  regards  beasts ;  and  that  the  latter  is 
entirely  misapprehended  is  now  evident.  We 
may  therefore  dismiss  from  our  minds  both  Psa. 
xlix.  and  Eccles.  iii.  as  having  no  bearing  what- 
ever on  the  subject.  The  Scriptures  therefore, 
as  far  as  we  have  seen,  do  not  deny  future  life  to 
the  lower  animals.  Whether  they  assert  it,  is 
not  relevant  to  the  present  issue. 


16 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


CHAPTER  II. 
REASON  AND  INSTINCT. 

Distinction  between  Instinct  aud  Reason.— Definition  of  Instinct.— Rarey  the  Horse-tamer.— Various  Phases 

of  Instinct  in  Man  and  Beast.— Definition  of  Reason.— Comparison  between  Children  and  Animals 

Reasoning  Powers  of  the  Fishes  and  Reptiles.— Reason  Displayed  by  the  Common  Toad.— The  Axolotl 
and  the  Horned  Toad.— Two  "Temperance"  Dogs  and  their  Masters.— "Mess"  and  his  Ways.— Knowl- 
edge of  his  Regimental  Uniform.  —  Methodical  Habits.  —  Medicine  and  Nightcaps.  —  A  Broken  Leg  and 
its  Consequences.— Unexpected  Failure  of  Reasoning  in  my  Dog  "Apollo." 


HAVING  now  disposed  of  the  purely  theolog- 
ical objections  to  the  future  life  of  the  lower  an- 
imals, we  proceed  to  the  subject  which  necessa- 
rily follows  next  in  order  —  namely,  the  pos- 
session of  reasoning  powers  in  them. 

There  is  much  vagueness  of  idea  on  this  point, 
the  general  tendency  being  to  confound  reason 
and  instinct  together,  and  to  wonder  when  one 
ends  and  the  other  begins.  For  example,  there 
are  hundreds  of  anecdotes,  too  familiar  for  quo- 
tation or  even  mention,  which  are  described  as 
wonderful  examples  of  instinct,  whereas  every 
one  of  them  is  a  proof  of  reason,  and  has  nothing 
to  do  with  instinct. 

When  the  late  Mr.  Rarey  was  exhibiting  his 
wonderful  powers  of  horse-taming  in  England,  I 
had  a  long  argument  with  him.  It  was  his  cus- 
tom to  preface  his  performances  by  a  short  lect- 
ure, in  which  he  was  in  the  habit  of  saying  that 
he  conquered  the  animals  because  he  possessed 
reason  and  the  horse  did  not.  I  submitted  to 
him  that  his  words  and  his  actions  were  diamet- 
rically opposed  to  each  other ;  for  that,  while 
he  denied  reason  in  the  horse,  every  successive 
stage  in  the  education  of  the  animal  was  a  direct 
appeal  to  its  reason. 

His  success  was  really  due  to  the  higher  and 
more  comprehensive  reason  subduing  the  lower 
and  more  limited  ;  while,  if  the  horse  did  not 
possess  reason,  Mr.  Rarey  could  have  exercised 
no  influence  whatever  upon  it.  Indeed,  as  he 
had  stated  in  his  lecture  that  dull  and  stupid 
horses  were  more  difficult  to  tame  than  intelli- 
gent and  high-spirited  animals,  he  had  already 
granted  their  capacity  of  reasoning. 

Some  years  ago  I  had  a  standing  dispute  with 
my  valued  friend,  the  late  Charles  Waterton. 
Swayed  probably  by  his  religious  views,  which 
were  of  the  severest  character,  he  never  would 
admit,  and  never  did  admit,  that  any  animal 
lower  than  man  could  possess  reason.  Yet  in 


all  his  dealings  with  the  animal  world,  in  which 
he  was  simply  without  a  rival,  he  invariably  ap- 
pealed to  their  reason  and  not  to  their  instinct. 

For  example,  he  never  would  allow  his  farm 
horses  to  be  tied  up  or  even  shut  in  their  stalls 
after  their  day's  labor.  He  always  had  them 
fed  in  loose  boxes,  and  the  doors  left  open,  so 
that  after  their  meal  the  animals  could  go  into 
the  yard  and  talk  to  each  other.  "We  like  to 
chat  over  our  meals,"  said  the  kindly  old  man, 
"and  so  do  they." 

I  remember  one  case  in  which  the  bailiff  was 
within  an  ace  of  being  dismissed  on  the  spot  be- 
cause one  of  the  men  had  fastened  a  horse  in  its 
stall.  Mr.  Waterton  quietly  took  out  his  pen- 
knife, cut  the  halter  into  inch  lengths,  laid  them 
on  the  floor  of  the  stable,  and  went  his  way.  At 
six  next  morning  the  bailiff  waited  on  his  mas- 
ter, looking  very  much  as  if  he  were  going  to  be 
hanged  with  a  like  halter.  He  knew  perfectly 
well  the  sort  of  reception  which  he  would  meet, 
and  was  evidently  relieved  when  he  left  the  room 
and  found  himself  still  bailiff. 

Whenever  Waterton  showed  himself  there  was 
a  general  commotion  in  the  domain,  all  the  in- 
habitants recognizing  their  friend  and  trying  to 
get  near  him. 

One  scene  I  never  shall  forget.  There  was  a 
splendid  young  bull,  milk  white,  one  of  the  many 
favorites  of  its  master,  and  the  terror  of  the  farm- 
laborers.  It  was  a  high-spirited  and  playful 
young  beast,  and  when  let  out  of  the  stable  used 
to  indulge  in  pranks  that  are  very  becoming  to 
a  kitten,  but  seem  rather  out  of  place  when  per- 
formed by  a  bull. 

One  morning  I  accompanied  Mr.  Waterton 
through  the  farm-yard,  and  he  casually  ordered 
the  men  to  let ' '  Tommy  "  loose.  When  we  came 
around  again  Tommy  was  still  in  his  stall,  not 
one  of  the  men  having  dared  to  touch  him.  His 
master,  after  calling  the  men  a  set  of  cowards, 


REASON  AND  INSTINCT. 


17 


proceeded  to  loose  Tommy  himself,  whereupon 
the  men  all  armed  themselves  with  big  cudgels. 
These  Mr.  Waterton  immediately  took  away 
again,  just  as  he  removed  the  weapons  of  his  as- 
sistants when  he  captured  the  huge  snake  in 
Guiana,  telling  them  that  if  they  were  afraid 
they  might  go ;  which  they  did. 

He  then  loosed  Tommy,  who  came  plunging 
out  in  the  exuberance  of  his  freedom,  capering 
about,  first  on  his  fore  and  then  on  his  hind  legs, 
and  tossing  bundles  of  litter  into  the  air  with 
his  horns.  Once  he  rushed  at  the  great  feed- 
ing-crib that  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  yard, 
knocked  it  down,  picked  it  up  with  his  horns, 
and  was  on  the  point  of  smashing  it  to  pieces, 
when  the  men,  who  were  in  a  horrible  fright  on 
the  other  side  of  the  fence,  threw  ropes  over  it 
and  dragged  it  out  of  the  animal's  reach. 

Tommy  then  made  a  charge  at  Mr.  Waterton, 
and  came  straight  on  him  with  head  down  as  if 
he  meant  to  fling  him  after  the  crib.  I  felt 
rather  nervous  myself  at  this  ;  but  Mr.  Water- 
ton  took  it  with  perfect  coolness,  and  just  put 
his  hand  on  the  beast's  broad  white  forehead, 
saying  in  a  tone  of  mild  remonstrance,  "Now 
then,  old  boy !"  Whereupon  Tommy  kicked  up 
his  heels,  gave  himself  a  shake,  and  next  mo- 
ment was  prancing  all  over  the  yard. 

There  was  not  the  least  harm  about  the  ani- 
mal. He  only  wanted  to  let  off  the  superfluous 
steam,  so  to  speak,  and  indulged  himself  in  the 
absurd  antics  which  have  been  described.  It  is 
very  likely  that  if  he  saw  the  men  running  away 
he  would  run  after  them,  thinking  that  they  were 
joining  in  his  game,  whereas  they  thought  that 
he  was  going  to  immolate  them  on  the  spot. 

In  a  few  minutes  Tommy's  exuberant  spirits 
had  calmed  down,  and  he  was  seen  quietly  lying 
down  in  the  straw  with  his  master  seated  on  him, 
and  feeding  him  with  bits  of  bread  out  of  his 
storehouse  of  a  pocket. 

I  should  have  liked  to  have  painted  that  scene : 
the  great  white  bull  lying  on  the  ground  with  the 
tall,  spare  form  of  his  master  seated  on  its  huge 
body ;  the  litter  all  tossed  here  and  there  by  his 
pranks;  the  horses,  cows,  cats,  poultry,  and  all 
sorts  of  birds  crowding  around  in  hope  of  scraps ; 
and  in  the  background  the  shamefaced  laborers, 
still  in  undisguised  terror  of  the  bull,  and  in 
equally  undisguised  admiration  of  their  master's 
courage. 

The  reader  will  see  here  that  Mr.  Waterton 
was  simply  gauging  the  reason  of  the  bull  by 
means  of  his  own,  and  that,  if  the  animal  had 
only  possessed  instinct  instead  of  reason,  his  mas- 
ter would  in  all  probability  have  been  killed  on 
the  spot. 

B 


Let  us  define  clearly  the  distinction  between 
instinct  and  reason. 

The  well-known  and  perfectly  correct  defini- 
tion of  Instinct  is  this — ".A  certain  power  or  dis- 
position of  mind  by  which,  independent  of  all  in- 
struction or  experience,  animals  are  directed  un- 
erringly to  do  spontaneously  whatever  is  necessary 
for  the  preservation  of  the  individual  or  the  con- 
tinuation of  the  species." 

Take  ourselves,  for  example.  It  is  instinct 
which  teaches  the  child  to  seek  its  mother's 
breast  and  to  obtain  its  nourishment  by  suction. 
This  it  does  in  the  first  hour  of  its  existence  as 
well  as  if  it  had  been  taught  by  example  and  had 
practiced  the  art  for  years.  It  is  instinct  which 
teaches  the  newly  born  child  to  breathe,  to  cry 
when  it  is  hungry  or  otherwise  uncomfortable, 
and  to  clasp  with  its  tiny  hand  the  finger  that  is 
put  into  it. 

It  is  instinct  that  teaches  a  bird  how  to  make 
its  nest  after  the  way  of  its  kind,  to  sit  upon 
its  eggs  until  they  are  hatched,  and  to  feed  the 
young  with  their  appropriate  food.  This  may 
seem  to  many  of  my  readers  a  needless  state- 
ment, but  even  in  one  of  the  learned  societies  of 
London  I  have  heard  a  speaker  assert  that  the 
power  of  building  the  nest  was  not  an  innate 
quality,  but  was  communicated  to  the  young  bv 
their  long  observation  of  the  nest  in  which  they 
were  reared.  That  such  an  hypothesis  is  utter- 
ly absurd  may  be  seen  from  the  following  facts. 

In  the  first  place,  although  the  young  pass  their 
first  few  weeks  inside  the  nest,  they  do  not  see 
the  outside,  neither  can  they  possibly  learn  from, 
their  parents  where  the  materials  were  obtained 
and  the  mode  of  putting  them  together.  Each 
species,  moreover,  adheres  to  the  habits  of  its 
kind,  so  that  a  chaffinch,  if  bred  in  a  redstart's 
nest,  would  build  the  nest  of  a  chaffinch  and  not 
that  of  a  redstart.  There  have  been  countless 
generations  of  cuckoos,  but,  although  every  one 
of  them  was  bred  in  the  nest  of  a  foster-parent 
not  of  its  own  species,  not  one  of  them  has  learned 
to  build  a  nest  for  itself,  but,  when  it  becomes  a 
mother,  is  taught  by  instinct  to  lay  its  eggs  in  the 
nest  of  some  other  bird. 

Take  the  case  of  insects.  Instinct  teaches  the 
silkworm  to  make  its  cocoon,  to  wait  there  until 
it  is  developed  into  a  moth,  and  then  to  force  its 
way  into  the  world.  It  has  never  seen  a  cocoon 
before,  so  that  it  could  not  learn  by  imitation. 
Its  mother  died  long  before  it  was  hatched,  so 
that  it  could  not  learn  by  instruction.  But, 
taught  by  instinct,  it  forms  its  cocoon  exactly  as 
did  its  parents  whom  it  never  saw,  and  as  will  its 
offspring  whom  it  never  will  see. 

All  practical  entomologists  are  familiar  with 


18 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


many  instances  of  pure  instinct  on  the  part  of 
insects.  One  of  the  most  common  is  furnished 
by  the  well-known  currant  moth,  or  magpie  moth, 
as  it  is  sometimes  called,  which  may  be  seen  any 
summer  day  flitting  about  the  currant  bushes, 
seeking  for  a  convenient  spot  in  which  to  place 
its  eggs.  It  is  a  very  conspicuous  insect  from  its 
mottled  yellow,  black,  and  white  wings,  and  is  re- 
markable for  the  fact  that  the  perfect  insect,  the  pu- 
pa, and  the  caterpillar,  all  possess  the  same  colors. 

The  caterpillar  belongs  to  the  group  which  is 
scientifically  termed  Geometridae,  or  earth -meas- 
urers, and  popularly  loopers,  on  account  of  the 
manner  in  which  they  walk,  not  crawling  like 
•other  caterpillars,  but  drawing  up  their  bodies  in 
•  the  middle  into  a  staple -like  shape,  and  so  ad- 

vancing by  successive  steps,  stretching  themselves 
straight  and  drawing  themselves  into  a  loop  alter- 
nately. 

All  these  caterpillars  are  provided  with  spin- 
nerets and  silk -producing  apparatus,  by  means 
•of  which  they  can  save  themselves  if  they  fall 
from  a  branch — an  accident  to  which  their  way 
of  walking  makes  them  peculiarly  liable.  As  they 
proceed,  with  the  head  and  tail  drawn  closely  to- 
gether, they  attach  a  thread  to  the  object  on  which 
they  are  walking  ;  and  when  they  stretch  forward 
the  body  to  take  a  new  hold  with  the  front  legs, 
they  draw  out  a  corresponding  length  of  silken 
cord.  If  they  should  fall,  they  are  brought  up 
by  the  cord ;  and  if  danger  should  threaten,  they 
let  themselves  down  to  the  ground,  and  regain 
their  position  afterward  by  climbing  up  the  sus- 
pended cord.  Sometimes  a  knowing  bird  has  been 
•observed  to  take  advantage  of  this  habit,  and  to 
shake  the  branches  until  the  caterpillars  had 
lowered  themselves  to  the  ground,  when  he  de- 
scended and  ate  them  at  his  leisure,  instead  of 
hunting  for  them  among  the  branches. 

These  caterpillars  are  hatched  toward  the  end 
of  summer,  and  feed  for  some  three  or  four  weeks, 
when  they  make  preparations  for  the  coming 
winter,  which  they  must  pass  in  a  state  of  som- 
nolescence.  Let  us  watch  one  of  them  at  this 
period  of  its  life.  Its  home  is  within  a  leaf  of 
the  currant  or  gooseberry,  the  edges  of  the  leaf 
being  drawn  together  and  fastened  by  silken 
cords.  But,  before  doing  this,  the  caterpillar 
ties  the  leaf  to  the  branch  by  several  strong  silk- 
en bands  attached  to  the  stem. 

This  process  completed,  the  caterpillar  goes 
into  its  winter-quarters,  and  sleeps  undisturbed 
until  spring.  In  process  of  time,  the  laws  of  nat- 
ure loosen  the  leaf  from  the  branch  :  it  can  not, 
however,  fall,  being  tied  by  the  silken  cords,  and 
so  it  only  hangs  suspended,  and  swings  about 
safely  in  the  wind  until  the  following  spring. 


Now  here  is  a  remarkable  example  of  instinct 
pure  and  simple.  It  is  utterly  impossible  that 
the  caterpillar  should  know  that  the  leaf  would 
fall  in  the  coming  winter -time,  and  that  the 
threads  would  keep  it  safely  suspended  until  the 
warm  weather  of  the  following  year. 

Indeed,  it  is  absolutely  impossible  that  the 
creature  should  even  know  that  there  was  such 
a  season  as  winter,  or  that  it  would  be  obliged 
to  live  in  the  state  of  hibernation  for  some  six 
months.  When  it  again  retires  into  quiescence 
during  its  pupal  state  it  does  not  act  in  the  same 
manner,  but  merely  slings  itself  to  the  branch  by 
its  tail,  previously  spinning  around  it  a  slight  co- 
coon by  way  of  protection. 

In  both  cases  instinct,  and  instinct  only,  dic- 
tated its  actions.  In  the  one  case  it  fastened 
the  leaf  to  the  bough,  without  knowing  that  the 
leaf  would  soon  fall ;  in  the  other  it  slung  itself 
to  the  branch,  without  knowing  that  during  the 
warm  days  of  summer  it  will  need  no  protection 
from  the  elements  and  little  from  enemies. 

It  is  instinct  which  teaches  the  newly  hatched 
chicken  to  run  about  and  peck  up  its  food  for  it- 
self, while  instinct  teaches  the  young  pigeon  to 
sit  still  in  the  nest  and  wait  until  fed  by  its  moth- 
er. Ducks,  though  hatched  under  a  hen,  will 
instinctively  make  their  way  to  the  water ;  while 
chickens,  though  hatched  under  a  duck,  will  in- 
stinctively keep  out  of  it.  Instinct  throws  a  mon- 
key into  the  most  abject  terror  at  the  first  sight 
of  a  serpent;  while  instinct  teaches  the  secretary- 
bird,  at  first  sight  of  a  serpent,  to  kill  and  eat  it. 
Instinct,  and  not  parental  instruction,  teaches 
animals  to  select  such  food  as  suits  them,  and  to 
reject  that  which  would  injure  them.  There  are 
certainly  some  cases  where  instinct  fails,  as,  for 
example,  cattle  who  poison  themselves  by  eating 
the  leaves  of  the  yew.  But,  in  these  instances, 
the  cattle  are  domesticated,  have  not  been  obliged 
to  depend  wholly  on  their  own  efforts  for  pro- 
curing food,  and  their  instincts  have  in  conse- 
quence lost  much  of  their  power. 

It  is  instinct  which  directs  with  unerring  ac- 
curacy the  cormorant  to  plunge  into  the  water 
and  to  capture  the  swfft  fishes  in  their  own  ele- 
ment. It  is  instinct  which  tells  the  mole  to  find 
its  food  beneath  the  earth,  and  the  swallow  to 
catch  the  flies  in  the  air.  The  swallow  never 
tries  to  catch  fish,  nor  the  cormorant  to  chase 
flies,  each  being  endowed  from  birth  with  the 
power  of  knowing  its  proper  food  and  the  means 
of  obtaining  it. 

It  is  instinct  which  teaches  the  dragon-fly,  an 
active  inhabitant  of  the  water,  and  the  drone- 
fly,  an  absolutely  inactive  inhabitant  of  the  mud, 
while  in  their  larval  states,  to  take  to  their  wings 


REASON  AND  INSTINCT. 


li) 


as  soon  as  they  have  attained  their  perfect  con- 
dition, and  to  dart  through  the  air  quicker  than 
the  eye  can  follow  them.  They  use  their  wings 
at  once  with  as  much  skill  as  if  they  had  learned 
under  skillful  teaching  and  with  long  practice. 

It  is  instinct,  and  not  reason,  that  forces  the 
birds  to  migrate,  and  which  guides  them  in  their 
long  journeys. 

Man,  as  well  as  the  lower  animals,  has  his  in- 
stincts ;  but,  as  he  is  able  to  bring  most  of  them 
in  subjection  to  his  reason,  very  few  of  them  are 
apparent.  Some,  however,  remain  and  assert 
themselves  throughout  the  whole  of  human  life. 


Reason  differs  from  instinct  in  the  widest  pos- 
sible manner,  the  former  being  an  exercise  of  the 
will,  and  the  latter  independent  of  it.  Instinct 
is  implanted  at  birth,  while  reason  is  an  after- 
growth of  the  mind.  Instinct  requires  no  exer- 
cise of  thought,  while  reasoning  may  be  briefly 
defined  as  a  deduction  of  a  conclusion  from  prem- 
ises. This  power  is  possessed  by  animals  in 
common  with  ourselves,  although  not  to  the  same 
extent ;  and  it  is  by  the  superiority  of  our  reason 
over  that  of  the  animals  that  we  maintain  our 
supremacy.  Very  often  their  deduction  is  insuf- 
ficient, or  their  premises  false  ;  but  the  process 
is  still  one  of  pure  reason,  and  has  no  connection 
with  instinct. 

With  them,  as  well  as  with  ourselves,  reason 
often  conquers  instinct,  especially  in  the  case  of 
those  animals  which  are  domesticated,  and  so 
develop  their  reasoning  powers  by  contact  with 
reason  of  a  higher  quality  than  their  own.  For 
example,  if  a  hungry  dog  or  cat  be  in  a  room 
where  food  is  left  unguarded,  their  instincts  urge 
them  to  jump  upon  the  table  and  satisfy  their 
hunger;  if  properly  trained,  however,  their  rea- 
son restrains  their  instinct,  and,  no  matter  how 
hungry  they  may  be,  they  will  not  touch  the  food 
until  it  is  given  to  them. 

I  had  scarcely  written  these  words  when  I  re- 
ceived the  following  anecdote,  which  shows  the 
power  of  reason  over  instinct  in  exactly  the  man- 
ner which  I  have  mentioned  : 

"A  cat  of  ours  once  showed  great  self-denial. 
She  was  a  terrible  eater  of  small  birds,  chickens, 
etc.,  and  therefore,  when  on  one  occasion  she 
was  found  to  have  passed  the  night  in  our  aviary 
of  doves,  great  was  the  alarm.  However,  on  in- 
spection, not  one  dove  was  missing ;  and  though 
she  was  asleep  in  an  inner  cage,  close  to  a  nest 
of  young  doves,  she  had  not  touched  a  feather. 
What  made  her  conduct  the  more  remarkable 
was  the  fact  that  on  being  released  she  ate  raven- 
ously." 


It  is  just  the  same  with  ourselves.  A  child 
that  has  been  well  brought  up  can  be  left  with 
perfect  safety  alone  with  any  kind  of  dainties, 
the  parents  having  taught  its  reason  to  conquer 
its  instincts.  Whereas  a  spoiled  or  ill-bred  child, 
which  has  been  suffered  to  allow  its  instincts  to 
be  paramount,  will  be  sure  to  fall  upon  the  covet- 
ed dainties  as  soon  as  it  is  left  alone,  and  proba- 
bly to  make  itself  very  ill.  Surely  the  conduct 
of  both  the  animal  and  the  child  is  identical. 

In  the  human  idiot  we  have  too  frequent  ex- 
amples of  the  terrible  power  of  instincts  or  pro- 
pensities, as  they  are  sometimes  called,  when  the 
reason  is  insufficient  to  counterbalance  them. 

Almost  any  animal  can  be  thus  trained  to  sub- 
ject its  natural  instincts  to  its  reason.  I  have  a 
letter  from  a  lady,  who  writes  that  she  has  a  pig 
which  for  good  manners  and  cleanliness  is  as  fit 
for  a  drawing-room  companion  as  any  lap-dog. 

The  distinction  between  reason  and  instinct 
is  strongly  defined  in  the  conduct  of  a  dog  who 
possessed  both  qualities  in  a  very  superior  de- 
gree. 

The  animal  in  question  was  named  "Don," 
and  was  in  his  master's  opinion  the  "prince  of 
pointers."  His  scent  was  extraordinarily  keen. 
For  example,  one  day,  when  out  shooting,  he 
suddenly  came  to  a  point,  and  stood  like  a  rock. 
His  master  went  up  to  him ;  but  no  game  rose, 
and  still  the  animal  continued  to  point.  His 
master  walked  on  in  the  indicated  direction,  un- 
til he  was  stopped  by  a  stone  wall,  and  on  look- 
ing over  it  he  saw  a  hare  closely  crouched  to  the 
ground.  The  keen  scent  of  the  dog  had  detect- 
ed it  in  spite  of  the  intervening  wall. 

As  often  happens,  birds  got  wild  toward  the 
end  of  the  season,  and  used  to  rise  while  out  of 
shot.  Now  "Don"  knew  the  range  of  the  game 
as  well  as  his  master,  and  invented  a  singularly 
ingenious  mode  of  literally  circumventing  the 
birds. 

His  peculiarly  keen  scent  enabled  him  to  detect 
them  at  a  considerable  distance,  so  that  they 
would  not  be  afraid  of  him.  Instead  of  going 
directly  toward  them,  "Don"  used  to.  circle 
around  them,  gradually  contracting  his  lines  until 
he  came  within  range.  He  would  then  look  back 
at  his  master,  as  if  to  say,  "It's  all  right,  we  have 
them  now ;"  and  so  they  had. 

Here  we  see  both  characteristics  developed  to 
the  fullest  degree,  the  lower  being  controlled  by 
the  higher,  and  used  as  its  tool.  The  singularly 
keen  scent  was  purely  instinctive,  and  had  noth- 
ing to  do  with  reason.  But  the  reasoning  pow- 
ers of  the  animal  enabled  him  to  employ  his  in- 
stincts in  the  service  of  his  master.  First,  he 
had  observed  that  the  gun  was  never  used  beyond 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


a  certain  sange,  and  had  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  beyond  that  range  birds  could  not  be  shot. 

Then  he  had  observed  that  when  birds  were 
Avild  they  rose  out  of  distance,  and  so  set  himself 
to  invent  some  plan  by  which  they  would  not 
take  alarm  while  out  of  shot.  The  device  which 
he  practiced  was  exactly  that  which  is  at  the 
present  day  employed  by  the  hunters  of  South 
America.  If  they  see  a  partridge  in  the  plain, 
they  ride  around  and  around  it  in  ever-narrowing 
circles.  The  bird  lies  closely  crouched  to  the 
ground  in  hopes  that  it  is  not  observed,  and  the 
horseman  at  last  approaches  so  closely  that  he  is 
able  to  kill  it  with  a  blow  from  the  metal  handle 
of  his  whip. 

Fishes  are  not  supposed  to  be  possessed  of 
much  reason ;  yet  every  angler  knows  that  all 
the  powers  of  his  mind  are  taxed  before  he  can 
induce  an  old  and  wary  trout  to  take  his  bait,  or, 
when  he  has  succeeded  in  hooking  the  fish,  to 
prevent  it  from  breaking  his  line. 

The  natural  instinct  of  a  fish  teaches  it  to  fly 
from  man,  and  we  all  know  that  even  our  shad- 
ows on  the  water  will  frighten  away  the  fish  and 
destroy  the  angler's  hopes  of  success.  Yet  I  know 
a  pond  full  of  gold-fish  which  are  quite  tame,  and 
which,  when  they  see  a  human  being  at  the  side 
of  the  pond,  come  toward  him  instead  of  being 
alarmed.  If  a  little  rippling  be  made  on  the 
surface  of  the  water,  they  come  crowding  to  the 
spot,  that  being  the  signal  for  food  ;  and  so  per- 
fectly confiding  are  they  that  they  will  take 
bread  or  biscuit  out  of  the  hand,  and  if  the  hand 
be  kept  under  the  water,  one  or  two  of  the  fishes 
will  presently  be  nibbling  at  each  finger. 

Here  then  is  an  example  of  the  instinct,  which 
urges  them  to  flee  from  man,  being  overcome  by 
the  reason,  which  tells  them  to  approach  him. 
I  have  seen  an  electric  eel  fed  in  just  the  same 
manner.  The  creature  was  blind ;  but  it  at  once 
recognized  the  ripple,  coiled  itself  around  the 
spot  where  the  water  was  agitated,  and  with  a 
shock  killed  a  fish  which  the  keeper  had  placed 
there.  At  the  British  Museum  there  are  now 
some  Axolotls  kept  alive  in  a  glass  vessel.  They 
are  sluggish  creatures,  mostly  lying  at  the  bottom 
of  the  vessel ;  but  if  the  water  be  agitated,  up 
they  come  with  open  mouths,  expecting  the  strip 
of  meat  with  which  they  are  fed. 

This  conduct  is  a  distinct  deduction  of  a  con- 
clusion from  premises,  and,  so  far  from  being 
dictated  by  instinct,  is  absolutely  opposed  to  it. 
If  the  reader  will  keep  in  mind  the  definition  of 
reason,  he  will  see  that,  in  all  the  anecdotes  which 
are  narrated  in  this  and  the  two  succeeding  chap- 
ters, reason,  and  not  instinct,  is  the  motive  power. 

The  following  account  of  a  tame  "Horned 


Toad,"  or  "Horned  Frog,"  as  the  animal  is 
called,  is  written  by  one  of  my  brothers.     I  may 
!  first  state  that  the  creature  in  question  is  neither 
a  toad  nor  a  frog,  but  a  lizard  belonging  to  the 
great  family  of  the  Iguanas.     Its  native  popular 
I  name  is  Tapayaxin,  and  it  is  known  to  science  as 
'  Phrynosowa  Blainvillii.     The  former  of  these 
names  is  composed  of  two  Greek  words  signify- 
ing toad-bodied,  and  is  given  to  the  creature  on 
account  of  its  flat,  toad-like  aspect.  ^ 

"The  Horned  Toad,  so  called  by  the  people 
of  the  regions  inhabited  by  this  curious  reptile, 
is  a  very  oddly  shaped  lizard,  measuring  when 
full  grown  about  six  inches  in  length,  of  which 
the  tail  occupies  one  and  a  half  inches,  and  three 
|  inches  across  the  back,  which  is  enormously  wide 
and  flat  when  compared  with  the  little  and  ele-  J 
gant  forms  of  the  lizards  in  general. 

"  The  head,  back,  and  tail  are  thickly  planted 
with  spines,  which  in\jhe  full-grown  animal  look 
exactly  like  those  of  the  black-thorn.  The  head 
from  behind  the  eyes  radiates  spines ;  the  back 
is  covered  with  them,  some  large  and  some  small. 
The  two  edges  of  the  belly  are  set  like  the  teeth 
of  a  saw,  as  is  also  the  tail,  which  appendage  is 
short  for  the  size  of  the  animal,  and  tapers  from 
three  quarters  of  an  inch  at  the  base  to  a  point 
at  the  extremity,  being  a  distance  of  only  an  inch  , 
and  a  half. 

"This  lizard,  probably  from  its  form,  is  not 
nearly  so  active  as  its  race  generally  are — even 
when  disturbed  seldom  running  more  than  three 
or  four  feet,  and  then  stopping  close  to  some  stone 
or  root,  to  which  instinct  teaches  it  it  bears  a 
close  resemblance,  and  trusts  to  that  resemblance 
to  escape  detection,  in  which  it  often  succeeds, 
as  in  such  cases  none  but  an  eye  educated  in  ob- 
servation can  trace  the  fugitive,  or  detect  in  the 
apparent  root  or  stone  a  living  reptile ;  on  these 
occasions  a  quick  grasp  of  the  hand  will  mostly 
secure  it  alive. 

"  The  facility  with  which  these  strange  creat- 
ures are  tamed  is  almost  ludicrous  in  its  effects. 
When  seized  in  the  hand,  it  endeavors  to  escape 
by  repeatedly  pressing  its  head  against  the  de- 
taining fingers  of  its  captor,  in  the  hope  that  the 
spikes  with  which  it  is  armed  will  effect  its  de- 
liverance ;  but  then  if  the  head  is  allowed  to  pro- 
trude from  the  hand  and  gently  stroked,  and  the 
under-jaw  treated  in  like  manner,  in  less  than  a 
minute  the  eyes  close  and  the  creature  is  asleep ; 
and  it  will  be  found,  upon  awakening,  that  the 
timid,  shy  lizard  is  completely  tamed.  This  cu- 
rious process  I  have  tried  on  some  eight  or  nine 
specimens  without  a  single  failure. 

"  When  thus  tamed,  these  lizards  make  the 
most  engaging  pets  possible,  their  forms  are  so 


REASON  AND  INSTINCT. 


strange,  and  their  actions  so  quaint  and  old- 
fashioned  in  the  extreme.  They  are  very  chilly 
creatures,  reveling  in  the  mid-day  sun,  and  hid- 
ing away  in  some  warm  corner  when  the  sun  goes 
down  ;  in  the  wild  state  they  scrape  a  small  hole 
in  the  sand,  heated  by  an  almost  tropical  sun,  and 
lie  there  during  the  night,  until  the  warm  rays  of 
the  morning  sun  again  arouse  them  into  activity. 

"This  habit  showed  itself  to  me  in  a  very  cu- 
rious manner.  I  had  caught  some  seven  or  eight 
specimens,  and  put  them  in  a  box  with  about  an 
inch  of  sand  it  the  bottom,  where  they  ran  about 
merrily  enough  during  the  day ;  but  next  morn- 
ing, when  I  looked  to  see  how  they  were  getting 
on,  not  one  was  visible,  and  I  naturally  supposed 
that  they  had  taken  French  leave  and  escaped. 
But  after  the  lapse  of  an  hour  or  so  I  heard  a 
scratching  in  the  box  ;  and  on  looking  in,  there 
were  all  my  little  friends,  some  running  about, 
others  still  half  buried  in  the  sand.  This  led  me 
to  suspect  their  habits,  and  so  next  morning,  just 
after  sunrise,  I  went  to  the  place  most  frequent- 
ed by  them,  and  sat  down  patiently  to  watch  for 
them.  In  about  half  an  hour  my  eye  caught  a 
movement  in  the  sand  about  half-a-dozen  yards 
to  my  right,  and,  after  a  moment  or  two,  out  came 
a  lizard,  and  before  an  hour  had  passed  I  had 
seen  four  come  out  of  their  sandy  beds. 

"I  hear  from  those  who  have  traveled  on  the 
greater  part  of  this  continent  that  this  lizard  is 
only  found  in  the  Sage-brush  district,  and  never 
near  water  or  damp  places.  It  is  also  stated 
that  one  of  these  reptiles  may  be  placed  in  a 
bottle,  corked  and  sealed  up  for  years,  and  will 
be  as  lively  at  the  end  as  when  first  put  in.  I 
have  commenced  an  experiment  on  this  subject, 
On  the  1st  of  September  I  placed  four  specimens 
in  different  bottles,  corked,  sealed,  and  then,  over 
all,  several  layers  of  tinfoil  tightly  pressed  down. 

"I  have  had  one  very  large  specimen  living 
at  large  in  my  bedroom  for  the  past  six  weeks ; 
during  this  time  he  has  on  several  occasions 
gone  out  of  doors  on  fly-catching  expeditions, 
but  always  returned  to  sleep  under  an  old  piece 
of  cloth  in  one  corner  of  the  room ;  and  even 
when  outside,  where  a  run  of  a  couple  of  yards 
would  give  him  liberty,  he  will  always  allow  me 
to  pick  him  up  without  trying  to  escape. 

"But  of  all  the  amusing  proceedings  on  his 
part  is  his  way  of  catching  flies  in  the  room. 

"  During  the  latter  part  of  the  day  the  sun 
shines  through  a  hole  in  the  shutter  of  my  bed- 
room, and  makes  a  nice  warm  spot  on  the  floor 
alongside  one  of  my  portmanteaus,  and  on  this 
spot  the  flies  '  most  do  congregate  ;'  so  my  little 
pet,  who  is  not  quick  enough  to  catch  the  flies 
in  fair  chase,  climbs  on  the  top  of  the  portman- 


teau, and,  lying  half  on 
opportunity,  and  woe  to  the  unfortunate  fly  that 
settles  below  him ;  the  instant  the  fly  is  quiet 
the  lizard  gives  a  few  preliminary  curls  to  the 
tip  of  his  tail,  just  as  a  cat  does  when  watching 
a  mouse,  and  then  tumbles  down  bodily  upon 
the  heedless  fly,  cuddles  his  prey  between  his 
fore  legs  and  chest,  and  then,  bending  down  his 
head  as  far  as  possible,  allows  the  fly  to  struggle 
out  of  his  embrace,  when  with  one  quick  mo- 
tion of  his  tongue  the  poor  fly  has  disappeared. 
After  a  moment's  rest,  up  he  climbs  again,  and 
is  ready  to  repeat  the  process. 

"I  have  once  counted  seven  flies  caught  in 
this  manner  within  an  hour,  and,  during  the 
whole  of  the  time  that  I  have  had  him,  I  have 
only  seen  him  miss  twice  in  catching  the  prey 
upon  which  he  had  fixed  his  eye. 

"As  the  nights  are  getting  colder,  I  notice 
my  pet  is  daily  becoming  more  lethargic  in  the 
morning,  and  from  this  assume,  in  all  probabil- 
ity, this  species  hibernates  during  the  winter.  I 
hope  to  be  able  to  make  some  few  experiments 
upon  this  subject  during  the  coming  winter,  and 
the  results,  if  any,  shall  be  duly  forwarded  for 
publication." 

The  writer  of  this  notice  sent  me  a  Tapayaxin 
by  post.  It  arrived  in  perfect  health,  and  lived 
for  some  time ;  but  I  have  no  hot-house,  and  a 
severe  winter  killed  it. 

The  reader  will  probably  have  observed  that 
in  this  mode  of  catching  prey  the  creature  was 
guided  by  reason  rather  than  by  instinct.  It  had 
observed  that  the  flies  were  in  the  habit  of  settling 
on  the  spot  which  had  been  warmed  by  the  sun- 
beam, and  so  took  advantage  of  the  portmanteau 
as  a  post  of  vantage  whence  he  would  leap,  or 
rather  fall,  upon  his  prey. 

If  there  be  any  animal  in  which  we  should 
look  for  reasoning  powers,  it  is  the  dog.  I  pro- 
pose, therefore,  to  give  a  few  original  anecdotes 
of  this  animal,  in  all  of  which  the  power  of  rea- 
son will  be  evident.  In  the  course  of  this  work 
many  other  anecdotes  will  be  related,  both  of 
dogs  and  other  animals,  in  which  their  power  of 
reason  will  be  shown  ;  but  as  the  anecdotes  have 
a  more  distinct  bearing  upon  other  attributes, 
such  as  love,  hate,  sympathy,  generosity,  etc., 
they  will  be  placed  under  those  respective  beads. 
In  the  two  anecdotes  which  follow  it  seems  as 
if  the  man  and  the  beast  had  almost  changed 
places.  At  all  events,  even  if  the  animals  did 
not  possess  more  reasoning  powers  than  the  men. 
they  exercised  those  powers  which  they  did  pos- 
sess to  a  better  purpose. 

Y  I  had  a  friend  who  possesses  a  little  black- 
and-tan  English  terrier.  His  master  had  the 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


misfortune  not  only  to  prefer  two  glasses  of  grog 
to  one,  but  greatly  to  prefer  three  or  four,  with 
the  usual  consequences.  On  one  of  these  occa- 
sions he  beat  his  dog  severely,  and  from  that 
time  the  dog,  whenever  there  was  a  recurrence 
of  the  fourth  tumbler,  went  and  hid  himself  in 
the  cupboard,  never  showing  himself  until  the 
effects  had  passed  off,  and  his  master  was  re- 
stored to  sobriety. 

"I  know  of  another  dog,  a  Scotch  terrier, 
whose  master  is  extremely  fond  of  him,  and  the 
attachment  is  mutual.  At  times  this  gentleman  ; 
exceeds  the  bounds  of  prudence,  and,  when  he 
does  so,  the  bout  lasts  for  two  or  three  days. 
Although  on  these  occasions  he  is  quite  inclined 
to  fondle  and  make  much  of  his  dog,  the  animal 
will  not  go  near  his  master,  nor  even  look  at 
him,  but  shuns  him  in  every  way,  and  keeps 
aloof  until  his"  master  is  restored  to  a  perfect 
state  of  sobriety." 

There  was  a  Scotch  terrier  dog  who  lately  ! 
died,  to  the  very  great  sorrow  of  his  master,  an  ' 
officer  in  the  4oth  Regiment,  and  the  very  great : 
rejoicing  of  his  master's  friends.     He  was  good  | 
C .  enough  to  honor  me  by  admitting  me  among  his  ! 
friends — the  only  person  not  belonging  to  the 
family  to  whom  he  extended  that  privilege.     His 
name  was  "  Mess,"  which  was  a  military  abbre- 
viation of  "Mesty,"  which  was  an  abbreviation 
of  Mephistopheles,  the  name  being  given  to  him 
in  consequence  of  his  temper,  which  really  de- 
served the  name  of  infernal.    No  one,  except  his  ! 
master,  his  master's  family,  and  an  exceptionally 
favored  servant  or  two,  could  put  a  hand  on  him 
without  being  bitten.     I  know  a  learned  bar-  j 
rister  who  has  been  kept  in  bed  until  a  very  late  : 
hour  in  the  morning  because  "  Mess"  had  come  i 
into  his  room  when  the  servant  brought  the  hot  j 
water  and  would  not  allow  him  to  get  up.     As 
long  as  he  lay  still  in  bed,  "Mess"  sat  quietly  on 
the  floor  ;   but  at  the  least  movement  "Mess"  i 
sprang  up  with  a  menacing  growl,  flashing  eyes,  ! 
and  gleaming  teeth,  and  the  unfortunate  guest  I 
had  to  subside  again,  unable  even  to  ring  the 
bell  for  help,  and   anxious  th^t  his  host  and  ! 
hostess  must  be  waiting  breakfast  for  him  and 
chafing  at  his  laziness. 

One  day  I  paid  a  visit  to  "Mess's"  master, 
not  knowing  any  thing  about  the  dog,  and  not 
seeing  the  dog  when  I  arrived.  Being  accus- 
tomed to  an  early  walk  before  breakfast,  I  start- 
ed off  as  usual  on  the  following  morning,  and 
on  returning  met  a  little  procession,  consisting 
of  a  nurse-maid  leading  a  donkey,  on  which  were 
the  two  daughters  of  my  host  in  panniers,  and  a 
remarkably  fine  Scotch  terrier,  which  was  trotting 
along  in  front.  As  soon  as  he  saw  me,  the  dog 


sprang  forward,  and  I,  not  knowing  any  thing 
of  his  character,  and  thinking  that  he  wanted  a 
game,  stooped  down,  patted  him,  rolled  him  on 
his  back,  pretended  to  box  his  ears,  put  my  hand 
into  his  mouth,  and,  in  short,  let  him  have  his 
game.  The  nurse-maid  stood  by  almost  para- 
lyzed with  horror  :  but  why  she  should  be  fright- 
ened seemed  rather  mysterious. 

On  coming  to  breakfast  I  spoke  in  high  terms 
of  the  splendid  dog  with  whom  I  had  enjoyed  a 
game,  and  the  host  was  almost  as  horrified  as 
the  nurse  had  been.  Not  until  then  did  I  hear 
about  the  dog's  temper ;  but,  whatever  it  was,  it 
was  never  displayed  toward  me,  and  I  believe 
that  I  am  the  only  person  not  belonging  to  the 
family  who  was  ever  allowed  to  put  a  hand  on 
him.  I  may  mention  that  a  life-sized  portrait 
of  "Mess "-was  taken  in  crayons  by  Mr. Water- 
house  Hawkins,  and  occupies  a  place  of  honor  in 
his  master's  dining-room. 

Some  years  ago  "Mess"  and  his  master  were 
stationed  at  Parkhurst,  where  was  a  depot. 
Although  several  regiments  were  represented, 
"Mess"  perfectly  knew  the  green  facings  of  his 
own  regiment,  and  would  recognize  men  belong- 
ing to  it,  but  no  others.  This,  by  the  way,  was 
the  more  curious,  as  all  the  troops  wore  the  scar- 
let coat.  He  had  a  way  of  being  present  at  the 
morning  parade,  and  then  going  off  to  the  bar- 
rack-rooms to  breakfast.  He  had  arranged  in 
his  own  mind  a  regular  series  of  rooms  to  be 
visited ;  and  if  the  men  succeeded  in  decoying 
him  into  a  room  which  did  not  correspond  with 
the  day,  he  bit  somebody  and  went  off  to  the 
right  room. 

There  are  many  officers  and  men  of  the  4/5 th 
who  perfectly  recollect  "Mess"  even  after  the 
lapse  of  several  years. 

Once,  while  home  on  leave,  his  master  was 
taken  with  a  fit  of  illness,  "Mess,"  as  a  matter 
of  course,  keeping  guard.  In  the  course  of  the 
night  the  necessary  medicine  was  brought  by 
the  patient's  mother,  who  wore  a  rather  elegant 
nightcap,  reserved,  as  she  used  to  say,  in  case  of 
fire.  The  medicine  happened  to  be  peculiarly 
distasteful,  and  the  patient  gave  an  involuntary 
shudder.  Whereupon  "  Mess,"  thinking  that  his 
master  was  being  injured,  flew  at  the  lady,  and 
never  afterward  would  endure  the  sight  of  a  fem- 
inine nightcap. 

"Mess"  was  good  enough  to  extend  his  friend- 
ship to  his  master's  father,  a  surgeon,  and  conde- 
scended to  accompany  him  on  his  rounds,  sitting 
in  great  state  on  the  box.  One  day  he  fell  off 
as  the  carriage  started,  and  the  wheels  went  over 
him,  breaking  one  of  his  legs.  He  would  not 
allow  himself  to  be  touched,  except  by  the  sur- 


REASON  AND  INSTINCT. 


geon's  hands  ;  and  to  him  he  was  quiet  and 
amenable,  allowing  his  leg  to  be  set  and  laid  in 
splints  without  showing  the  least  anger,  and  be- 
ing evidently  grateful  for  the  services  rendered 
to  him.  The  leg  rapidly  recovered,  and  "Mess" 
was  at  his  master's  country-house  when  the  sur- 
geon came  to  pay  his  son  a  visit.  No  sooner 
did  "Mess"  see  him  than,  although  his  injury 
had  long  been  healed,  he  began  to  limp,  went  to 
his  old  friend,  rolled  over  on  his  back,  and  held 
up  his  leg.  Nor  would  he  desist  until  a  hand- 
kerchief had  been  tied  around  the  leg  and  some 
water  poured  over  it.  Afterward,  when  he  hap- 
pened to  injure  a  paw,  he  went  of  his  own  accord 
to  the  surgeon,  held  up  the  damaged  limb,  and 
asked  for  help  as  plainly  as  if  he  possessed  hu- 
man language. 

We  shall  hear  more  of  "Mess"  in  succeeding 
pages,  but  meanwhile  it  is  impossible  not  to  see 
that  the  actions  of  the  dog  proceeded  from  real 
reason.  Sometimes  his  premises  were  false,  as 
in  the  case  where  he  kept  the  guest  in  bed, 
or  when  he  must  needs  have  the  sound  limb 
dressed  ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  he  did  draw 
a  conclusion  from  premises,  and  that  therefore 
he  possessed  reason. 

A  lady  of  my  acquaintance  once  saw  a  curious 
instance  of  reasoning  in  a  toad. 

She  was  sitting  in  a  garden,  when  she  saw 
something  alive  moving  along  the  base  of  the 
wall,  which  was  an  old  one  and  full  of  crevices. 
The  object  proved  to  be  a  large  toad,  which  was 
examining  the  wall  in  a  most  systematic  fashion. 
She  saw  the  creature  raise  himself  on  his  hind 
legs,  peer  into  a  crevice  first  with  one  eye  and 
then  with  the  other.  Then  he  tapped  the  wall 
with  his  paw,  and  pushed  it  into  the  aperture. 
Evidently  dissatisfied,  he  went  away,  and  tried 
another  crevice  in  the  same  manner  and  with 
the  same  result.  A  third,  however,  was  larger 
than  the  others;  and  this  seemed  to  be  to  his 
taste,  for  he  slowly  drew  himself  up  the  wall  and 
disappeared  into  the  crevice. 

It  was  evident  that  the  creature  knew  his  own 
dimensions,  and  was  taking  measurements  of 
the  crevices  in  order  to  find  one  that  would  al- 
low him  to  enter.  Toads,  by  the  way,  possess 
sufficient  reason  to  be  easily  tamed,  and  to  come 
at  a  call.  My  children  generally  have  some 
tame  toads  in  the  summer-time,  and  are  in  the 
habit  of  carrying  them  around  the  garden,  and 
holding  them  up  to  let  them  catch  the  flies  and 
other  insects  that  settle  on  the  flowers.  The 
creatures  are  so  accustomed  to  this  mode  of 
being  fed  th'at  they  do  not  require  to  be  held, 
but  sit  quietly  on  the  open  hand. 


It  is  very  curious  to  note  how  the  reason  of 
the  lower  animals  suddenly  fails  just  where  least 
expected.  My  bull -dog,  "Apollo,"  an  animal 
of  peculiar  intellectual  powers,  once  displayed  a 
singular  example  of  this  sudden  failure. 

I  was  walking  out,  with  Apollo  as  usual  at 
my  heels,  when  I  met  a  party  of  friends,  who 
began  to  ridicule  the  dog,  saying  that  he  was  of 
no  use  except  at  a  dog-fight,  and  could  not  even 
fetch  or  carry.  I  answered  by  throwing  my 
stick,  a  heavy  "Penang  lawyer,"  over  a  high 
park  fence  standing  on  the  top  of  a  steep  bank. 
Apollo  dashed  after  it,  and,  being  lithe  and  act- 
ive as  a  greyhound,  he  sprang  up  the  bank  and 
fairly  leaped  the  fence,  just  helping  himself  over 
with  his  legs. 

Presently  we  saw  his  round  head  come  up  on 
the  other  side  of  the  fence,  the  stick  being  in  his 
jaws.  It  was  so  heavy  that  he  could  not  even 
get  his  fore  legs  on  the  fence,  aud  so  he  ran 
along  the  inside  trying  to  find  an  outlet.  As 
the  fence  had  been  recently  repaired,  he  could 
not  find  an  exit,  and  straightway  set  about 
making  one.  He  put  down  the  stick,  and  de- 
liberately bit  a  hole  through  the  fence,  tearing 
away  the  oak  planks  as  if  they  were  pasteboard, 
until  he  had  made  a  hole  through  which  he  could 
pass.  He  went  through  the  hole,  put  his  head 
into  the  field,  took  the  stick  in  his  mouth,  and 
tried  to  pull  it  after  him.  As,  however,  he  had 
grasped  it  by  the  middle,  the  stick  naturally  re- 
sisted his  efforts. 

I  thought  that  the  dog  would  be  sure  to  take 
the  stick  by  one  of  its  ends,  and  so  pull  it  through ; 
but,  instead  of  doing  so,  he  went  back  into  the 
field,  and  tore  away  the  fence  till  he  had  made  a 
hole  large  enough  for  the  stick  when  held  by  the 
middle. 

This  story  is  the  more  remarkable  because 
other  dogs,  certainly  not  of  greater  mental  calibre 
than  Apollo,  have  resorted  to  that  very  simple 
mode  of  getting  out  of  a  difficulty. 

For  example,  I  have  a  letter  before  me  in 
which  is  an  account  of  a  dog  who  had  been  sent 
into  the  water  after  a  wooden  rail  about  eight 
feet  long  and  several  inches  wide.  The  animal 
took  it  by  the  middle,  and  swam  with  it  to  the 
only  place  where  a  landing  was  practicable ;  but, 
finding  that  there  was  not  sufficient  space  for 
the  long  rail,  he  swam  out  again,  turned  the  rail 
around,  took  one  end  in  his  mouth,  and  so  brought 
it  ashore.  Presently  his  master  threw  the  rail 
into  the  water  again,  and  this  time  the  dog  took 
it  by  the  end  at  once  in  order  to  bring  it  in, 
never  seizing  it  by  the  middle  after  his  first 
failure. 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


CHAPTER  III. 

REASON— (continued). 

History  of  a  Friend's  Dogs.—"  Pincher  "and  his  Mistress.—"  Pepper"  and  the  Velvet  Cat.— The  Maltese  Dog 
and  Lady  C.'s  Carriage.—"  Joey  "  and  the  Alarmed  Household — Joey's  Last  Days.— Dogs  Discovering 
Lighted  Gas  and  Unfastened  Doors  at  Night.— The  Cat  Detective.— Dogs  Understanding  the  Use  of  Money. 
—The  Penny  and  the  Red-hot  Iron.— The  Margate  Dog  and  the  Baker.— The  Suicide's  Dog.— The  Hat  and 

the  Walk. Hide  aiid  Seek. — A  Too-conscientious  Dog. — The  Terrier  and  her  Hiding-place. — "  Bosco's" 

Curiosity  Gratified.— A  Gallant  Rescue  and  Deserved  Castigation.— Acquisitiveness  in  a  Dog.— Lord  M.'s 
Dog  and  the  Runaway  Horse.—  The  Retriever  and  the  Hedgehog — Courtesy  to  Ladies.— An  Ass  too 
Clever  to  be  Kept.— Various  Modes  of  Opening  Doors.— The  Clever  Mule.— A  Morning  Caller.— The 
Monkey,  the  Cage,  and  the  Strap. 


A  LADY  who  has  a  great  fondness  for  animals, 
especially  dogs,  has  kindly  sent  me  a  few  anec- 
dotes relating  to  traits  of  character  among  her 
pets.  The  following  have  been  selected  as  ex- 
amples of  reason  in  the  dog,  though  other  traits 
are  also  manifest. 

"Poor  old  Pincher!  His  name  was  most 
old-fashioned  and  unaristpcratic,  and  he  was  one 
of  the  occupants  of  our  stable-yard,  and  never 
allowed  to  enter  the  house.  His  education  was 
totally  neglected  and  uncared  for.  He  was  a 
middle-sized,  smooth-haired,  black  terrier,  and 
had  acquired  some  peculiar  ways  of  his  own. 

"  In  his  time  we  were  in  the  habit  of  spending 
about  two  days  per  week  at  our  country-house, 
ten  miles  distant  from  Canterbury.  Pincher 
generally  accompanied  our  carriage,  and  seemed 
to  enjoy  these  country  days  as  much  as  any  of 
us.  On  one  occasion,  home-engagements  had 
prevented  us  from  paying  our  accustomed  visit 
to  Harnden.  Pincher  disapproved  of  the  alter- 
ation, as  he  started  off  with  the  carriage  as  usual ; 
but  when  he  found  our  destination  was  not  Harn- 
den, he  refused  to  follow,  but  turned  off  to  the 
house,  went  the  whole  distance  (mystifying  the 
servants  there,  who  expected  us  to  follow),  re- 
mained there  until  evening,  and  then  returned 
home. 

"  Years  later  the  poor  dog  became  too  old  to 
accomplish  the  whole  distance.  He  could  not 
walk,  and  would  not  ride ;  so  he  adopted  the 
expedient  of  going  about  half-way  with  us,  always 
waiting  at  the  same  spot  until  our  return,  and 
then  following  us  home. " 

"A  little  Scotch  terrier,  named  '  Pepper,'  one 
of  our  former  pets,  was,  like  most  of  his  relatives, 


a  capital  fellow  for  hunting  a  rat,  a  cat,  or  a 
mouse.  He  was  our  companion  when  calling  on 
an  old  lady,  where  I  thought  we  could  take  him 
without  uny  fear  of  his  hunting  propensity  caus- 
ing annoyance,  as  I  knew  she  had  no  living  pet 
of  any  description.  We  had  scarcely  entered 
the  spacious  drawing-room,  when,  from  under- 
neath an  Indian  cabinet  at  the  extreme  end  of 
the  room,  our  dog  Pepper  saw  two  large,  glassy, 
yellow  eyes  glaring  at  him  with  more  than  natural 
ferocity.  Without  waiting  to  use  his  power  of 
scent,  he  rushed  fiercely  on  his  imagined  foe, 
which  fell  lifeless  at  his  feet,  Pepper  retreating 
to  our  side,  hanging  down  his  tail,  and  looking 
more  like  the  vanquished  than  the  victor. 

"  Do  any  of  my  readers  remember  those  now 
unmade  cats  of  pasteboard  and  black  velvet  text- 
ure, those  no\v  non-existent  ornaments  of  former 
days  ?  Such  was  Pepper's  foe.  Dogs  know  well 
enough  when  they  are  the  objects  of  ridicule,  and, 
finding  we  were  all  laughing  at  his  discomfiture, 
he  returned  to  the  velvet  pussy,  and  in  playful 
mood  carried  her  around  the  room,  evidently 
wishing  to  hide  his  mistake  by  convincing  us 
that  it  had  only  been  a  sham  fight  from  the  be- 
ginning." 

The  action  of  the  dog  here  is  very  human,  and 
it  behaved  just  as  a  clever  child  might  be  ex- 
pected to  do  when  it  had  been  deceived,  and 
was  afraid  of  ridicule.  In  the  next  anecdote 
the  reasoning  powers  of  a  dog  are  seen  to  be  at 
fault,  as  they  sometimes  are  with  human  beings. 

"  The  dog  which  we  now  have,  though  not  an 
equestrian  like  his  predecessor,  is  exceedingly 
fond  of  carriage  drives  ;  and  if  a  well-appointe«l 
carriage  should  draw  up,  he  will  often  stop,  and 
look  up  most  pleadingly  at  the  coachman  to  have 


REASON. 


the  door  opened.  Of  course  he  has  had  many 
drives  with  us  in  cabs,  but  he  never  of  his  own 
accord  enters  one  of  these  vehicles. 

' '  We  have  been  lately  staying  in  town,  and 
the  day  after  our  arrival  we  went  out,  followed 
by  our  little  dog.  We  had  just  passed  through 
one  of  the  large  squares,  when  we  missed  our 
favorite.  With  only  a  faint  hope  of  finding  him, 
we  retraced  our  steps  to  the  square,  where  a 
handsome  carriage,  with  coachman  and  footman, 
was  drawn  up  at  the  door  of  one  of  its  most 
stately  mansions.  We  asked  the  footman  if  he 
had  seen  a  little  white  Maltese  dog  in  the  square. 

*  Yes,  madam :  as  soon  as  Lady  C got  out 

of  the  carriage,  he  jumped  in  so  quickly  that  I 
had  not  time  to  prevent  him,  seated  himself  on 
the  cushion,  and  defied  rne  to  remove  him.' 

"  There  he  was,  evidently  waiting  for  us.  Just 
at  that  moment  her  ladyship  came  "out  of  the 
house,  accompanied  by  her  little  pug-dog.  In 
jumped  the  pug,  down  jumped  the  Maltese,  and 
there  was  a  sharp  fight,  which  was  ended  by  my 
removal  of  the  usurper.  We  were  only  too  glad 
to  find  him  again,  and  Lady  C said,  good- 
naturedly,  that  he  deserved  a  drive  for  his  deter- 
mination." 

"  A  few  years  ago  we  left  our  household,  in 
the  old  city  of  Canterbury,  in  the  charge  of  a 
man  and  his  wife,  who  also  undertook  the  care 
of  a  little  Maltese  spaniel,  named  '  Joey.' 

'"On  one  rough,  blustering  December  night, 
when  the  inhabitants  were  in  their  profoundest 
slumbers,  a  tremendous  'bang 'resounded  through 
the  house,  awaking  all  its  inmates,  including  Joey, 
just  as  the  cathedral  clock  struck  the  midnight 
hour.  Men  and  maids  rushed  hither  and  thither ; 
but  no  evident  cause  could  be  found  for  the  alarm, 
every  door  and  window  being  perfectly  secure. 

"After  the  first  disturbance  had  subsided, 
Joey  returned  to  the  quietude  of  his  own  basket, 
with  evident  disgust  at  the  unusual  and,  in  his 
opinion,  uncalled-for  commotion,  and  refused  to 
take  any  part  in  the  search. 

"  At  last  he  was  forcibly  put  into  the  garden 
as  an  advanced  guard,  but  he  flatly  declined  to 
move  a  step.  All  joined  in  upbraiding  him. 

*  Joey  was  lazy !'    '  Joey  was  a  coward !'     '  Joey 
was  no  use  as  a  watch-dog !'    And  one  of  the 
servants  expressed  an  opinion  that  he  had  been 
drugged  by  thieves,  and  that  she  had  noticed  a 
drowsiness  on  the  preceding  day.     Next  morn- 
ing it  was  found  that  the  large  old-fashioned 
clock  in  the  lobby  did  not  strike  the  hour  as 
usual.     The  fact  was,  the  weight  which  drove 
the  striking  part  of  the  machinery  had  broken 
away  from  its  cord,  had  fallen  into  the  bottom 


of  the  case,  and  had  produced  the  sound  which 
had  startled  the  house." 

The  dog  evidently  knew  that  no  danger  was 
signified  by  the  sound,  and  so  declined  to  trouble 
himself  about  the  matter.  This  was  the  more 
remarkable,  as  he  was  the  wariest  and  most  sus- 
picious of  dogs.  He  would  never  compose  him- 
self to  sleep  unless  the  shutters  of  the  garden  door 
were  properly  closed,  and  used  to  bark  and  growl 
at  the  door  until  it  was  made  secure, 

"  In  a  former  letter  to  you  I  mentioned  my 
little  dog  Joey. 

"  The  last  summer  of  his  life  we  left  him  as 
usual  in  the  care  of  a  man  and  his  wife ;  but 
this  time,  unfortunately  for  the  dog,  their  son 
George,  a  boy  of  fifteen,  was  at  home  for  his 
school  holidays.  On  our  return,  after  an  absence 
of  some  months,  no  little  Joey  welcomed  us, 
and  no  one  can  tell  how  we  missed  his  merry 
voice.  Was  Joey  dead  or  ill  ?  No ;  he  was 
only  shut  up  in  a  room  up-stairs  until  after  our 
arrival. 

"We  thought  this  to  be  rather  a  mysterious 
proceeding,  and,  on  our  entering  the  room,  the 
poor  little  animal  rushed  to  meet  us,  and  then 
fell  down  powerless  in  a  fit.  The  first  time  that 
George  came  into  the  room,  Joey  walked  up  to 
him,  stared  him  in  the  face,  and  commenced  a 
series  of  growls,  looking  at  us  every  now  and  then 
as  if  to  ask  whether  we  understood  him. 

"  Whenever  the  boy  entered  the  room  this 
scene  was  repeated,  and,  even  if  we  took  Joey 
in  our  arms,  he  continued  to  growl,  and  seemed 
as  if  he  thought  that  we  ought  to  growl  also.  At 
the  time  we  could  not  interpret  his  meaning ;  but 
we  afterward  discovered  that  the  boy  had  given 
him  a  blow  on  the  head,  which  caused  him  to 
have  fits  whenever  excited,  and  at  last  caused  his 
death.  How  plainly  did  he  tell  us  who  had  in- 
jured him  !" 

In  neither  of  these  cases  was  instinct  in  the 
least  concerned,  the  whole  proceedings  being 
dictated  by  reason,  and  reason  alone.  In  the 
first  instance  the  dog  knew  whence  proceeded 
the  sound  which  had  alarmed  the  house,  reasoned 
with  himself  that  there  was  no  cause  for  alarm, 
and,  though  he  would  have  been  in  a  paroxysm 
of  barks  if  danger  had  really  impended,  he  went 
back  to  his  couch,  and  declined  to  trouble  him- 
self. In  the  second  case  the  poor  little  creature, 
not  possessing  human  language,  tried  to  make 
his  friends  understand,  by  a  language  of  signs, 
that  he  had  been  injured  by  the  boy.  The  lan- 
guage was  singularly  expressive,  and  would  have 
been  at  once  understood,  were  it  not  that  bis 
mistress  was  herself  so  kind  to  animals  that  she 


26 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


never  suspected  that  any  one  could  be  capable 
of  doing  the  dog  a  willful  injury. 

I  know  several  instances  where  domestic  ani- 
mals have  discovered  that  there  was  something 
wrong  in  the  arrangements  of  the  house,  and  have 
called  attention  to  it.  There  is  a  little  dog  belong- 
ing to  one  of  my  friends,  who  one  night  became 
very  importunate,  pulling  the  skirt  of  his  mistress's 
dress,  and  insisting  on  her  returning  down-stairs. 
She  was  rather  alarmed  :  but  the  dog  drew  her 
to  the  greenhouse  door,  which  he  evidently  meant 
to  be  opened.  On  unlocking  the  door,  she  found 
that  she  had  forgotten  to  turn  off  the  gas.  The 
little  dog  had  been  accustomed  to  see  the  gas 
turned  off  before  the  family  went  to  bed,  and 
was  too  conservative  to  allow  any  change. 

Here  is  a  similar  example,  which  was  com- 
municated to  me  by  a  lady.  "Did  I  tell  you 
that  my  dog  Tiny  once  found  that  the  house- 
maid had  forgotten  to  shut  a  closet  door  in  a 
bedroom  at  the  top  of  the  house  ?  He  came  to 
me,  made  me  follow  him,  and  showed  me  the 
open  door." 

Cats  are  not  generally  considered  as  house- 
guardians,  but  that  they  can  act  as  such  the  fol- 
lowing anecdote  will  show. 

A  lady  had  a  very  strong  objection  to  "fol- 
lowers," and  forbade  her  servants  to  receive  a 
man  into  the  house.  One  evening  she  was  sit- 
ting in  the  drawing-room,  when  she  heard  the 
cat  mewing  and  scratching  at  the  door,  as  if  for 
admittance.  She  opened  the  door ;  but  the  cat 
would  not  enter,  and  evidently  wished  to  be  fol- 
lowed down -stairs.  She  then  descended  the 
stairs,  and  led  her  mistress  into  the  kitchen, 
where  was  the  obnoxious  "follower." 

This  anecdote  shows  also  that  the  animal 
must  have  been  able  to  understand  human  lan- 
guage, or  otherwise  she  could  not  have  known 
that  her  mistress  had  forbidden  strange  men  to 
enter  the  house. 

In  the  two  following  anecdotes  the  action  of 
the  dog  can  only  be  attributed  to  reason,  and 
that  of  no  mean  character. 

The  first  anecdote  was  sent  to  me  by  one 
of  the  principals  in  a  well-known  engineering 
firm. 

"I  once  lost  a  sovereign  in  a  bet  which  1 1 
made  that  a  wonderful  little  dog  would  not  take  ! 
a  penny  off  a  red-hot  bar  of  iron.     The  dog  be- 
longed to  an  ironmonger  at  Knighton,  Radnor- 
shire.    The  dog  was  in  the  habit  of  searching 
for  pence   purposely  hidden  in  the  shop,  and, 
when  found,  taking  them  to  a  baker's  shop  and 
getting  buns  in  exchange.     He  quite  knew  the 


right-sized  bun,  and  used  to  keep  his  paw  on  the 
penny  until  he  got  it. 

"A  bar  was  heated  red-hot,  and  no  sooner 
was  the  penny  laid  on  it  than  the  dog,  without 
the  least  hesitation,  dashed  at  it.  By  some 
means  which  I  could  not  see,  because  it  was 
done  so  quickly,  the  dog  knocked  the  penny  off 
the  bar,  and  then  sat  down  quietly  by  it  until  the 
coin  was  cool.  His  look  of  perfect  self-satisfac- 
tion was  most  absurd. " 

Some  years  ago  there  was  a  dog  at  Margate 
which  also  knew  the  use  of  money.  He  used  to 
beg  for  pence,  and  take  them  to  a  baker  to  be 
exchanged  for  biscuits,  at  a  shop  in  the  narrow, 
hilly  lane  which  is  pleased  to  assume  the  title  of 
High  Street.  One  day  the  baker,  wishing  to  see 
how  the  dog  would  behave  if  he  played  the  ani- 
mal a  practical  joke,  took  his  penny  and  gave 
him  a  burned  biscuit.  The  next  time  the  dog 
had  a  penny  he  took  it  to  the  baker  as  usual, 
showed  it  to  him,  and  then  went  off  to  another 
baker  who  lived  nearly  opposite.  This  he  after- 
ward did  invariably,  showing  the  penny  to  the 
baker  who  had  offended  him,  and  then  transfer- 
ring his  custom  to  the  rival  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  narrow  street. 

The  whole  of  these  proceedings  were  dictated 
by  pure  reason,  and  instinct  had  nothing  to  do 
with  them.  It  was,  in  fact,  doing  on  a  small 
scale  precisely  what  the  dog's  master  would  have 
done  on  a  large  scale  if  a  tradesman  had  taken 
his  money  and  given  him  a  bad  article  for  it. 
He  would  have  withdrawn  his  custom  from  the 
offender,  and  given  it  to  another  man  who  he 
thought  would  serve  him  more  honestly. 

No  one  can  say  that  instinct  had  any  thing  to 
do  with  these  proceedings,  the  dog  in  each  case 
deducing  a  conclusion  from  premises,  and  de- 
ducing them  rightly.  Had  a  child  acted  in  the 
same  manner,  we  should  have  thought  it  a  veiy 
clever  child ;  but  we  certainly  should  have  attrib- 
uted its  action  to  reason,  and  not  to  instinct; 
and  I  do  not  see  that  we  have  any  right  to  at- 
tribute reason  to  the  one  and  to  deny  it  to  the 
other. 

We  are  familiar  with  many  instances  where 
dogs  have  tried  to  assist  their  fellow-creatures, 
whether  human  or  belonging  to  their  own  kind. 
The  following  history  of  a  suicide's  dog  was  sent 
to  me  by  a  Scotch  lady,  who  takes  a  great  inter- 
est in  dogs. 

"There  is  a  cottage  called  'Blaw-weary'  on 

the  farm  of  C ,  the  property  of  the  Marquis 

of  T .  This  cottage  is  just  on  the  other  side 

of  our  march-fence,  about  half  a  mile  from  our 
house  on  the  west. 


REASON. 


27 


"A  shepherd  lived  in  Blaw-weary  some  four 
years  ago  (about  1868),  and  one  day  he  and  his 
collie  dog  went  out  early  in  the  morning,  accord- 
ing to  their  custom.  At  breakfast-time  the  dog 
returned  alone,  looking  miserable,  and  would  eat 
nothing.  After  remaining  a  few  minutes,  he 
went  out  again ;  the  man's  wife,  who  was  at 
home,  suspecting  nothing.  At  dinner-time  the 
dog  came  back  again,  also  alone,  and  'banged 
through  the  hoose,'as  his  mistress  said. 

"Presently  he  went  out,  and  soon  came  in 
again,  making  piteous  efforts  to  attract  attention. 
The  assistant  shepherd  followed  the  dog,  and 
was  taken  straight  to  a  small  clump  of  trees  in 
the  neighborhood,  on  one  of  which  was  hanging 
his  master,  quite  dead.  The  poor  dog  would 
not  allow  any  one  to  touch  the  body  ;  and  it  was 
not  until  after  he  had  been  overpowered  and  led 
away  that  the  corpse  could  be  removed  from  the 
branch  on  which  the  wretched  man  had  hanged 
himself." 

Here  we  have  a  story  which  is  exceedingly 
valuable,  as  it  shows  not  only  that  the  dog  pos- 
sessed reason,  but  is  another  proof  that  the  rea- 
son will  sometimes  suddenly  fail  exactly  when  it 
seemed  to  have  been  most  successful.  The  poor 
animal  had  evidently  witnessed  his  master's  dy- 
ing struggles,  and,  feeling  himself  unable  to  help, 
had  gone  to  his  house  for  assistance.  Having 
obtained  that  help,  however,  he  could  not  un- 
derstand that  any  one  could  touch  his  beloved 
master  without  intending  to  injure  him.  Many 
medical  men  have  met  with  similar  experien- 
ces, the  dog  bringing  assistance  to  his  helpless 
master,  and  then  not  suffering  any  one  to  touch 
him. 

Probably  the  animal  felt  that  his  master  was 
dead,  and  that  no  one  could  restore  him  to  life. 

The  following  stories  illustrating  the  reason- 
ing powers  of  dogs  have  been  sent  to  me  from 
Scotland,  where  dog-nature  seems  to  be  better 
appreciated  than  in  England. 

"A  retriever,  named  'Bevis,'  an  old  favorite 
of  our  own,  was  in  the  habit  of  going  for  a  walk 
before  breakfast  with  my  father.  One  morning 
it  so  happened  that  my  father  did  not  intend  to 
take  his  usual  walk.  Bevis  soon  became  very 
impatient,  and,  seeing  no  signs  of  his  master,  he 
got  upon  a  chair  in  the  hall,  took  his  master's 
hat  off  its  peg,  carried  it  up  to  his  room,  and 
then  scratched  at  the  door  for  admission.  As 
soon  as  the  door  was  opened,  in  walked  Bevis, 
laid  the  hat  at  his  master's  feet,  and  pushed  his 
nose  into  his  hand.  It  was  entirely  his  own 
idea,  as  he  had  not  even  been  taught  to  fetch  a 
hat." 


|  "  Another  dog  of  ours,  a  little  Maltese  poodle, 
named  '  Pop,'  was  unusually  full  of  tricks  and 
oddities. 

"  He  was  fond  of  a  game  at  hide  and  seek,  a 
key  being  hidden  for  him,  while  he  buried  his 

!  face  in  the  sofa-cushions.  Sometimes  he  would 
be  guilty  of  cheating,  and  would  slyly  peep  out 
to  see  where  the  key  was  being  hidden;  but 
when  reproached  with  the  two  simple  words, 
'Oh,  Pop!'  he  would  put  down  his  head  again, 
and  be  very  much  ashamed  of  himself." 

The  reader  can  compare  with  this  story  sever- 
al anecdotes  of  a  similar  character  related  in  the 
chapter  headed  "  Humor." 

The  following  anecdote,  which  was  sent  by 
the  same  correspondent,  affords  a  good  example 
of  wrong  reasoning,  i.  e.,  drawing  an  incorrect 
conclusion  from  the  premises. 

"A  collie  dog,  named  'Moss,'  belonging  to  a 
farmer,  had  excited  the  admiration  of  a  drover 
who  was  helping  the  shepherd  to  bring  home 
cattle  to  the  farm.  The  drover  asked  to  be  al- 
lowed to  borrow  Moss  for  a  few  days,  to  help 
him  in  getting  some  cattle  from  another  market 
to  Burntisland. 

"The  dog,  being  on  friendly  terms  with  the 
drover,  went  willingly,  and  gave  his  help  in  bring- 
ing the  cattle  on  their  journey.  On  their  return, 
they  had  to  pass  the  spot  where  the  road  to 
Burntisland  branches  oft'  from  that  which  led  to 
his  own  farm ;  Moss  refused  to  go  any  farther 
on  the  Burntisland  road.  Not  only  this,  but  he 
would  not  allow  the  drover  to  take  the  cattle  any 
farther,  and  the  man  was  at  last  obliged  to  let 
the  dog  deliver  the  cattle  at  his  master's  farm." 

The  process  of  reasoning  is  quite  evident  here. 
The  dog  had  always  known  that  any  property 
of  which  he  had  been  placed  in  charge  belonged 
to  his  master,  and  consequently  brought  the  cat- 
tle to  his  master's  farm.  His  reasoning  was  cor- 
rect enough,  but  one  of  his  premises  was  false. 

Here  is  another  example  of  reasoning  in  a 
dog.  Several  successive  litters  of  puppies  had 
been  taken  from  their  mother,  a  little  terrier. 
When  the  next  litter  was  expected,  she  left  the 
house,  and  was  not  seen  again  for  some  time. 

At  last  she  returned,  bringing  with  her  in  great 
pomp  a  whole  retinue  of  fine  healthy  puppies.  It 
appeared  that  she  had  hidden  herself  in  a  rabbit- 
burrow,  evidently  knowing  that,  if  she  could  only 

|  conceal  her  puppies  until  they  were  able  to  shift 
for  themselves,  no  harm  would  come  to  them. 

!  The  result  proved  that  she  had  been  perfectly 

;  correct  in  her  interpretation  of  her  master's  char- 

i  acter. 


28 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


"  One  day  my  dog  'Bosco'  wished  to  ascer- 
tain if  the  roast  beef  still  stood  upon  the  passage- 
table  at  the  dining-room  door.  He  stood  on  his 
hind  legs,  jumped  up,  but  all  in  vain.  So,  after 
thinking  a  little,  he  ran  a  short  way  up-stairs, 
pushed  his  head  through  the  banisters,  looked 
down,  and,  after  ascertaining  that  there  was  only 
pudding  on  the  table,  returned  quietly  to  the  par- 
lor." 

I  have  known  a  King  Charles  spaniel  to  act  in 
very  much  the  same  way,  except  that  in  the  lat- 
ter case  the  dish  which  the  dog  wanted  to  inspect 
was  on  the  dining-room  table.  After  trying  in 
vain  to  see  what  was  on  the  table,  he  went  out 
of  the  room,  went  half-way  up  the  stairs,  and  so 
took  a  survey  of  the  table  through  the  open  door- 
way. 

The  following  anecdote  was  sent  to  me  by  a 
gentleman  resident  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
locality  where  the  adventure  occurred. 

"  There  is  a  water-mill,  called  Maxwellheugh, 
on  the  side  of  the  road  between  Kelso  and  Tev- 
iot  bridges.  It  is  driven  by  a  conduit  of  water 
from  the  Teviot  immediately  before  its  junction 
with  the  Tweed,  and  consists  of  two  flats.  The 
upper  flat  is  on  a  level  with  the  public  road,  and 
is  called  the  *  Upper  Mill,'  while  entrance  to  the 
lower  flat,  or  'Under  Mill,'  was  reached  by  a 
cart-road  descending  from  the  highway. 

"  The  first  thing  the  miller  did  in  the  morning 
was  to  unchain  the  dog.  He  immediately  placed 
himself  on  guard  across  the  upper  doorway  while 
the  miller  proceeded  with  his  work  in  the  Under 
Mill.  As  soon  as  the  miller  had  finished  his 
work  there,  and  removed  to  the  Upper  Mill,  the 
dog,  without  being  told,  set  off  to  the  miller's 
house,  and  in  two  journeys  brought  his  master's 
breakfast — namely,  milk  in  a  pitcher  and  por- 
ridge in  a  4  bicker,'  tied  up  in  a  towel. 

"  On  one  occasion,  when  the  Teviot  and  the 
Tweed  were  in  flood,  a  little  dog  ventured  incau- 
tiously into  the  Tweed,  and  was  rapidly  carried 
down  the  stream,  struggling  and  yelping  as  it 
was  hurried  along. 

"  It  so  happened  that  the  miller's  dog,  while 
carrying  his  master's  breakfast  to  him,  saw  the  lit- 
tle dog  in  distress.  He  immediately  put  down  his 
burden,  turned,  and  set  off  at  full  gallop  down  the 
stream.  When  he  had  got  well  below  the  drown- 
ing dog,  he  sprang  into  the  river,  swam  across, 
and  so  exactly  had  he  calculated  the  rapidity  of 
the  river  and  his  own  speed,  that  he  intercepted 
the  little  dog  as  it  was  being  helplessly  swept 
down  the  current,  and  brought  it  safely  to  land. 

"  When  he  got  his  burden  safely  on  shore,  the 
dog,  instead  of  displaying  the  least  affection  for 


it,  cuffed  it  first  with  one  paw  and  then  with  the 
other,  and  returned  to  the  spot  where  he  had  de- 
posited his  master's  breakfast,  and  carried  it  to 
him  as  usual." 

How  is  it  possible  to  refer  the  proceedings 
of  this  animal  to  mere  instinct  ?  Had  a  negro 
slave  performed  them,  we  should  have  used  them 
(and  with  perfect  justice)  as  arguments  that  so 
intellectual  and  trustworthy  a  man  ought  not  to 
be  the  property  of  an  irresponsible  master. 

The  whole  behavior  of  the  dog  is  exactly  like 
that  of  a  burly,  kindly,  and  rugged  bargee,  pos- 
sessed of  cool  judgment  and  rapid  action,  willing 
to  risk  his  life  for  another,  and  then  to  make 
light  of  the  whole  business.  I  was  for  some 
years  in  charge  of  a  water-side  parish,  and  knew 
many  a  bargee  who  would  have  acted  exactly  in 
the  same  way  if  a  child  had  fallen  into  the  river. 
He  would  have  got  the  child  out  at  the  risk  of 
his  own  life,  and  then,  instead  of  waiting  for 
thanks,  would  have  boxed  its  ears  soundly,  rated 
it  for  interrupting  him  in  his  work,  and  then  have 
proceeded  with  his  journey  as  if  nothing  had  hap- 
pened. 

The  man  would  have  been  held  worthy  of  the 
medal  of  the  Eoyal  Humane  Society,  and  would 
probably  have  received  it.  The  dog  can  receive 
no  reward  in  this  world  :  shall  we  say  that  he  will 
receive  none  in  the  next  ? 

The  process  of  reasoning  that  took  place  in 
the  dog's  mind  is  as  evident  as  if  the  brain  had 
been  that  of  a  man  and  not  of  a  dog.  The  ani- 
mal exhibited  self-denial,  presence  of  mind,  and 
forethought.  Had  he  jumped  into  the  water  at 
once,  he  could  not  have  caught  the  little  dog ; 
but  by  galloping  down  the  stream,  getting  ahead 
of  the  drowning  animal,  and  then  stemming  the 
current  until  it  was  swept  within  his  reach,  he 
made  sure  of  his  object ;  and  no  man  could  have 
acted  better  if  he  had  tried  to  save  a  drowning 
child. 

The  following  curious  instance  of  reason  joined 
with  accumulation  has  been  recently  sent  to  me. 
I  know  the  dog,  and  an  odd,  eccentric  little  be- 
ing he  is. 

"  Property  of  every  description  requires  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  supervision,  whether  *  real  or  per- 
sonal,' as  the  lawyers  say,  and  has  its  attendant 
anxieties  as  well  as  its  attendant  pleasures ;  but 
I  never  saw  any  animal  so  impressed  with  the  re- 
sponsibility as  our  present  little  dog  appears  to  be. 

"  Having  been  in  our  possession  all  his  little 
life-time,  the  items  of  his  personal  property  have 
gradually  increased.  At  first  he  occupied  the  bas- 
ket of  his  predecessor,  which  was  taken  up-stairs 
for  him  at  night.  After  some  time,  another  bas- 


REASON. 


29 


ket  was  purchased  for  the  drawing-room,  the  old 
one  retaining  its  place  up- stairs.  New  things  are 
always  favorites  with  children,  and  this  at  first 
was  supposed  to  be  the  case  with  our  little  ani- 
mal:  he  would  not  occupy  the  old  basket  at 
night,  so  the  new  one  was  brought  up  at  night 
and  placed  beside  it.  This  was  continued  for  a 
short  time :  when  the  old  one  was  taken  down, 
the  new  one  only  remaining  up-stairs.  This  was 
not  the  right  thing  to  do :  he  then  refused  to 
occupy  the  new  one. 

"  I  must  confess  to  humoring  his  little  pecul- 
iarities, so  I  fetched  the  old  basket  up,  leaving 
both  in  the  room.  This  was  quite  what  he  want- 
ed, and  gave  evident  satisfaction :  he  jumped 
into  one,  which  he  arranged  comfortably,  then 
performed  the  same  operation  in  the  other,  and 
finally  occupied  both  baskets  at  intervals  during 
the  night.  He  will  now  never  compose  himself 
at  night  until  both  baskets  are  in  the  room.  One 
night  I  purposely  removed  his  dish  of  water ;  he 
missed  it,  sat  up  begging  on  the  spot  it  always 
occupied,  and  great  was  his  delight  on  its  res- 
toration, although  he  had  no  wish  to  drink.  I 
have  given  him  duplicate  property,  and  placed 
his  baskets,  water-dishes,  etc.,  at  different  parts 
of  the  room  ;  he  never  fails  to  go  the  round  and 
inspect  his  property  before  fixing  himself  for  the 
night,  and  most  amusing  it  is  to  witness  his  anx- 
iety until  he  has  the  whole  of  his  goods  under 
his  own  protection." 

Here  is  an  anecdote  of  important  help  ren- 
dered in  a  most  unexpected  manner.  It  was 
sent  to  me  by  the  wife  of  the  dog's  owner. 

"  The  late  Lord  M.  had  a  very  fine  large  black 
Newfoundland  dog,  called  '  Neptune,'  which  used 
to  be  kept  chained  up  in  a  court-yard  outside  the 
castle.  Now  Neptune  was  very  fond  of  mutton 
and  pork,  and  used  to  worry  the  sheep  and  pigs 
whenever  he  had  a  chance.  He  was  consequent- 
ly very  seldom  let  loose  or  taken  out,  unless  they 
were  going  to  ride  in  some  out-of-the-way  dis- 
trict. On  one  occasion,  in  the  autumn  of  1856, 
Lord  M.  and  Mr.  H.  were  riding  across  country, 
accompanied  by  Neptune,  when  coming  to  a  high 
bank  with  a  broad  ditch  on  either  side,  Lord 
M.'s  horse  refused  to  take  it;  so  Lord  M.  dis- 
mounted, and,  getting  onto  the  bank,  tried  to 
lead  him  over  it;  but  while  so  standing  on  the 
bank  a  gust  of  wind  blew  his  hat  off',  and  in 
trying  to  save  it  the  bridle  slipped  from  his  hand, 
and  the  horse  became  loose. 

"As  quick  as  lightning,  Neptune,  who  had  ap- 
parently been  most  interested  in  the  endeavor  to 
get?  the  horse  over,  sprang  after  the  hat,  and, 
catching  it,  jumped  with  it  onto  the  bank,  drop- 


ped it  at  his  master's  feet,  and  dashed  after  the 
horse,  which  was  trotting  off;  and,  before  Mr.  H. 
could  overtake  it,  he  had  seized  the  bridle  with 
his  teeth,  and  held  on,  checking  it  till  Mr.  H. 
came  up  and  took  the  bridle  from  him,  when  he 
appeared  to  express  his  pleasure  by  little  short 
barks  and  a  variety  of  gambcls.  What  makes 
this  a  remarkable  circumstance  is  that  Neptune 
had  never  been  broken  in  to  fetch  and  carry,  and 
had  never  been  used  as  a  retriever,  or  was  known 
or  seen  to  do  any  thing  of  the  sort  before  that 
occasion." 

In  the  following  example  of  the  conduct  of  a 
dog,  it  is  impossible  to  see  that  instinct  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  his  conduct,  which  was  evi- 
dently prompted  by  reason. 

"While  a  friend  of  mine  was  last  week  super- 
intending his  workmen  in  a  wood,  he  observed 
his  dog,  a  retriever,  busily  occupied  in  collecting 
mouthfuls  of  hay  and  withered  grass,  and  carry- 
ing it  all  to  one  spot.  On  going  to  examine  it, 
he  found  the  deposit  made  was  on  a  closely  coiled 
hedgehog.  The  dog,  having  attained  his  evi- 
dent purpose  of  rendering  the  spines  harmless, 
proceeded  to  take  up  the  heap  with  its  contents, 
and  then  set  off  triumphantly  toward  home." 

No  human  being  could  have  acted  in  a  more 
judicious  manner ;  and  had  a  man  saved  his 
fingers  by  enveloping  the  hedgehog  in  grass,  he 
would  not  have  felt  particularly  flattered  if  told 
that  he  had  acted  by  instinct  and  not  by  reason. 

A  rather  odd  example  of  dog-reasoning  oc- 
curred not  long  ago.  A  Newfoundland  dog  was 
walking  with  his  mistresses,  when  he  got  into  a 
quarrel  with  a  costermonger's  dog,  fought  him, 
conquered  him,  and  left  him  howling  on  the 
ground.  Seeing,  however,  that  the  animal  would 
be  in  the  way  of  the  ladies,  he  returned,  took  up 
the  animal  in  his  mouth,  and  deposited  him  in 
the  middle  of  the  road,  so  as  to  allow  them  to 
pass  without  annoyance,  and  then  returned  to 
his  usual  position. 

We  will  now  pass  to  other  animals. 

We  are  often  accustomed  to  use  the  name  of 
ass  as  a  synonym  for  stupidity,  whereas  it  is  one 
of  the  most  intelligent  animals  in  the  world. 
The  Rev.  C.  Otway  has  the  following  remarks 
on  the  subject : 

"  I  assert  that  if  you  were  to  make  yourself  ac- 
quainted with  asses,  you  would  find  them  clever 
enough.  I  once  purchased  an  ass  for  the  amuse- 
ment of  my  children.  I  did  not  allow  him  to  be 
cudgeled,  and  he  got  something  bettor  to  graze 
upon  than  thistles. 


30 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


"Why,  I  found  him  more  knave  than  fool; 
his  very  cleverness  was  my  plague.  My  ass,  like 
the  king's  fool,  proved  the  ablest  animal  about 
the  place,  and,  like  others,  having  more  wit  than 
good  manners,  he  was  forever,  not  only  going, 
but  leading  other  cattle  into  mischief.  There 
was  not  a  gate  about  the  place  but  he  would  open 
it ;  there  was  not  a  fence  that  he  would  not 
climb.  Too  often  he  awoke  me  of  a  summer's 
morning,  braying  with  sheer  wantonness  in  the 
middle  of  my  field  of  wheat.  I  was  obliged  to 
part  with  him,  and  get  a  pony,  merely  because 
he  was  too  cunning  to  be  kept." 

A  correspondent  of  Land  and  Water  gives  an 
interesting  account  of  a  similar  mode  of  proceed- 
ing on  the  part  of  two  long-horned  cows.  The 
door  of  the  hay-chamber  opened  outward,  and 
was  fastened  by  a  latch  lifted  by  the  finger  thrust 
through  a  hole  in  the  door.  The  cows  had  seen 
this  done,  and,  if  left  alone,  would  invariably 
open  the  door  by  inserting  the  tip  of  a  horn  into 
the  finger-hole,  lifting  the  latch,  and  then  draw- 
ing the  door  toward  them.  He  also  describes 
the  mode  in  which  a  cat  opened  a  kitchen  door, 
by  jumping  up  and  hanging  on  the  handle  of  the 
latch. 

Dr.  Bell  has  recorded  almost  identical  habits 
both  of  the  horse  and  the  cow,  and  I  have  heard 
similar  stories  in  many  places. 

As  if  to  illustrate  this  point  still  further,  I  have 
just  received  an  account  of  a  cow  which  could 
not  be  kept  in  the  field,  because  she  was  in  the 
habit  of  lifting  the  latch  with  her  horn  and  then 
pushing  the  gate  open. 

The  same  correspondent  mentions  a  horse 
which  was  accustomed  to  pump  water  for  him- 
self. The  pump  was  in  a  corner  of  the  horse- 
box in  which  the  horse  was  shut  for  the  night, 
and  the  coachman  used  to  be  puzzled  at  the  fact 
that  when  he  came  in  the  morning  the  end  of  the 
stable  was  always  an  inch  or  so  deep  in  water. 
At  last  he  suspected  that  the  horse  might  have 
been  the  delinquent,  and  so  fastened  him  up  with- 
out giving  him  any  water,  and  watched  him  un- 
observed when  let  loose  in  the  morning.  The 
animal  went  at  once  to  the  pump,  took  the  han- 
dle in  his  teeth,  worked  it  up  and  down,  and, 
when  the  water  was  in  full  flow,  placed  his  mouth 
under  the  spout  to  drink.  He  could  not  endure 
being  watched  while  pumping,  and,  if  he  saw 
any  one  observing  him,  would  rush  at  him  with 
open  mouth  in  order  to  scare  him  away. 

The  mule,  like  the  ass,  is  popularly  thought  to 
be  a  stupid  and  stubborn  creature,  and  yet  there 
are  few  animals  more  intelligent  in  their  way. 


I  can  not  resist  relating  one  or  two  anecdotes, 
which  are  told  by  J.  Froebel,  in  his  work  on  South 
America.  The  mule,  it  appe&i-s,  is  a  most  diffi- 
cult animal  to  manage,  on  account  of  its  cunning. 
Force  is  of  no  use,  and  the  Mexican  mule-drivers 
pride  themselves  in  their  skill  in  managing  the 
animals.  At  the  end  of  the  day's  journey,  the 
mules  are  unharnessed  and  allowed  to  go  free, 
and  are  captured  by  the  lasso  when  they  are  to 
be  again  harnessed.  Some  mules  are  so  cunning, 
however,  that  even  the  experienced  muleteers  can 
scarcely  capture  them.  Some  of  them  assemble 
in  a  compact  circle,  with  their  heads  all  pressed 
together,  so  as  to  prevent  the  noose  from  settling 
on  their  necks,  while  others  push  their  heads  un- 
der the  wagons  or  between  the  wheels.  Others,  still 
more  cunning,  stand  still,  and  as  the  lasso  rushes 
toward  them,  merely  step  aside  and  let  it  pass. 

One  mule,  a  white  one,  succeeded  in  baffling 
the  attempts  of  the  drivers  throughout  the  whole 
of  a  long  journey.  As  soon  as  the  harness-time 
approached,  it  ran  off  for  half  a  mile,  and  there 
stood  until  the  whole  train  of  wagons  was  in  mo- 
tion, when  it  quietly  joined  its  companions.  On 
one  or  two  occasions  it  was  captured  by  a  couple 
of  men  on  horseback ;  but  it  led  them  such  a 
chase,  wasted  so  much  time,  and  fatigued  the 
horses  so  much,  that  it  got  its  own  way  and  had 
a  mere  journey  of  pleasure,  while  all  its  compan- 
ions were  hard  at  work. 

Another  mule,  which  belonged  to  a  convent, 
was  equally  averse  to  work.  There  were  six 
mules,  each  being  worked  on  one  day  of  the  week 
in  regular  order.  This  mule  knew  its  own  day 
perfectly  well,  and  on  that  morning  it  always 
tried  to  keep  the  servants  out  of  the  yard  by 
backing  against  the  door. 

The  following  account  of  a  horse  was  sent  to 
me  by  a  clergyman  : 

"  I  had  long  entertained  the  idea  of  sending 
you  a  brief  account  of  an  instance  of  reason  which 
.occurred  to  my  own  knowledge,  and  indeed  at 
pur  own  door. 

"A  neighbor  possessed  a  young  foal,  which, 
with  his  mother,  used  to  pass  our  house  daily, 
early  in  the  morning,  during  our  breakfast-time, 
and  had  a  habit  of  straying  upon  a  piece  of  waste 
ground  which  then  occupied  its  front,  but  has 
since  been  inclosed  and  formed  into  a  front  gar- 
den. My  daughter,  who  is  extremely  partial  to 
horses,  used  to  run  out  and  offer  the  little  animal 
a  piece  of  bread. 

"This  went  on  regularly,  until  at  last,  when 
he  was  between  two  and  three  years  old,  he  would 
not  wait  for  the  bread,  but  used  to  go  to  the  door, 
plant  his  fore  feet  on  the  steps,  so  as  <to  gain  suf- 


REASON. 


81 


ficient  elevation,  and  then  lift  the  knocker  with 
his  nose,  afterward  waiting  for  the  expected 
morsel. 

"  Had  I  been  a  rich  man,  I  would  have  bought 
him  at  almost  any  price  ;  for  his  mother  was  a 
well-bred  mare,  and  he  promised  to  be  a  very 
useful  roadster." 

Here  we  have  the  two  qualities  of  memory  and 
reasoning  displayed  in  a  most  unmistakable  char- 
acter. Indeed,  if  we  suppose  that  a  dumb  man 
had  acted  as  the  horse  did,  we  should  have  been 
disposed  to  marvel  at  the  way  in  which  human 
reason  could  communicate  ideas  without  the  aid 
•of  speech.  In  this  case,  the  memory  of  the  ani- 
mal enabled  him  to  expect  his  daily  dole  of  bread, 
and  his  reason  —  not  his  instinct  —  taught  him 
that,  when  the  knocker  was  sounded,  some  one 
came  to  the  door.  It  is  evident  that  the  horse 
had  seen  the  knocker  used,  had  noted  the  result, 
and  had  followed  the  example,  using,  of  course, 
his  nose  in  lieu  of  a  hand. 

Perhaps  there  are  few  of  us  who  have  possessed 
pet  cats  who  have  not  seen  the  animals'  perform 
very  similar  feats.  Although  too  small  to  reach 
a  knocker  or  a  latch,  many  a  cat  has  been  seen 
to  knock  at  the  door  and  to  open  it  for  herself, 
merely  by  jumping  and  striking  the  object  with 
her  paw. 

Sometimes,  when  a  door  must  be  opened  by 
means  of  a  knob  instead  of  a  latch,  the  animal 
knows  perfectly  well  that  it  is  physically  incapa- 
ble of  turning  the  handle,  and  therefore  does  not 
try  to  do  so.  But  it  will  always  find  some  way 
of  intimating  its  wish  to  have  the  door  opened, 
and  will  ask,  as  plainly  as  if  it  possessed  speech, 
some  human  being  to  perform  the  task  of  which 
it  feels  itself  incapable. 

Some  few  years  ago,  Professor  Cope  related 
the  proceedings  of  a  tame  monkey  which  he  pos- 
sessed— one  of  the  common  Capuchin  monkeys. 

The  animal  was  kept  in  a  cage,  or  rather  was 
supposed  to  be  kept  in  it,  for  he  had  a  strong  ob- 
jection to  confinement,  and  was  sure  to  break 
loose  sooner  or  later.  •  He  always  directed  his 
attention  to  the  hinges,  and  no  matter  how  firm- 
ly they  were  fixed,  he  was  sure  before  long  to 
extract  the  staples,  pull  out  the  nails,  and  so 
open  the  door  at  the  hinges  and  not  at  the  latch. 

Finding  that  the  cage  could  not  hold  him,  his 
master  had  him  confined  by  a  strap  fastened 
around  his  waist,  after  the  manner  of  monkeys. 
The  strap  proved  to  be  of  no  more  use  than  the 


cage,  for  the  crafty  animal  soon  contrived  to  open 
it.  This  he  did  by  the  ingenious  expedient  of 
picking  out  the  threads  by  which  the  strap  was 
sewn  to  the  buckles,  and  so  rendering  the  fasten- 
ings useless. 

Then  he  was  replaced  in  the  cage  and  carefullv 
watched.  Having  rid  himself  of  the  strap,  he 
thought  that  he  might  as  well  turn  it  to  some 
useful  purpose.  So,  having  perceived  that  some 
food  had  fallen  out  of  his  reach,  he  took  one 
end  of  the  strap  in  his  paw,  flung  the  other  over 
the  morsel  of  food,  and  so  drew  it  toward  him. 
In  this  feat  he  displayed  great  accuracy  of  aim, 
seldom  missing  the  object  which  he  wanted. 

Once  or  twice,  when  he  had  to  make  a  longer 
throw  than  usual,  he  loosened  his  hold  of  the 
strap.  The  first  time  that  this  happened,  some 
one  handed  him  the  poker.  He  took  it,  drew  the 
strap  toward  him,  and  resumed  its  use  as  before. 

Now  I  should  think  that  no  reasonable  reader 
could  deny  that  every  one  of  these  acts  was 
prompted  by  reason,  which,  so  far  from  being 
even  aided  by  instinct,  was  acting  in  direct  op- 
position to  it.  The  instinct  of  an  animal  when 
confined  or  tethered  in  any  way  is  to  break  loose 
by  main  strength,  and  the  instinct  of  the  mon- 
key would  have  impelled  him  to  force  his  way 
through  the  bars  of  the  cage  or  to  strain  at  the 
strap  until  he  broke  it.  His  reason,  however, 
taught  him  to  look  for  the  weak  part  in  both 
cage  and  strap,  and,  having  found  it,  to  work 
at  that  part  .alone  until  he  succeeded  in  his  ob- 
ject. 

How  was  it  possible  for  instinct  to  teach  him 
that  the  hinges  were  the  weak  part  of  his  cage, 
and  that,  if  he  could  only  manage  to  draw  the 
staples  or  nails,  the  door  would  open  and  he  would 
be  free  ?  How  could  instinct  teach  him  that  the 
stitches  of  the  strap-buckles  were  to  the  strap 
what  the  staples  and  nails  were  to  the  hinges, 
and  that,  if  he  could  pick  out  the  threads,  the 
fastenings  of  the  strap  would  be  rendered  useless? 
Neither  could  instinct  teach  him  to  use  the  strap 
in  the  light  of  a  lasso,  or  to  employ  the  poker  in 
regaining  his  lost  weapon. 

Baron  Trenck  himself  could  not  have  displayed 
more  ingenuity  in  discovering  the  weak  parts  of 
his  prison  and  bonds  than  did  this  little  monkey, 
nor  could  he  have  shown  more  patience  and  per- 
severance in  working  at  them.  Indeed,  there 
are  many  human  beings  who  would  not  have 
been  half  as  sensible. 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

.REASON— (concluded). 

Enjoyment  of  Work  by  Animals.— The  Elephant  and  the  Dray-horse.— The  Miners'  Horse.— "Jock"  at  his 
Work.— The  New  Forest  Horses.— The  Carrier's  Horse  and  his  Master.— Sir  Hope  Grant's  Story  of  a 
Wounded  Horse. — An  Elephant  in  a  Quicksand:  Mode  of  Extrication. — The  Cat  and  the  Lobster. — In- 
genuity of  Rats.— Pigs  verms  Rats.— Crows  versus  Pheasants — The  Ravens  and  the  Bird-traps.— Robbing 
the  Railways. — My  Raven  "  Grip  "  and  his  Run. — History  of  a  Parrot. — A  Self-tamed  Red-breast,  with 
his  Well-educated  Family  ;  Death  of  the  Father  and  Friendship  of  the  Widow  and  Children.— The  Cat 
"  Patch  "  and  the  Mouse. — "  Fret's"  Mouse-chase. — Reason  and  Power  of  Combination  in  the  Rat. — The 
Fox  and  the  Grouse.— A  Dog-strategist  in  Battle. 


SOMETIMES  animals  take  a  pleasure  in  their 
work,  and  do  it  without  needing  any  .supervision. 
Elephants,  as  is  well  known,  when  once  shown 
what  their  work  is,  will  go  on  with  it  while  their 
drivers  are  elsewhere  engaged.  Dray-horses  may 
often  be  seen  exercising  their  reasoning  powers 
while  drawing  casks  out  of  the  cellars.  The  dray- 
man in  the  cellar  makes  the  rope  fast,  and  calls 
to  the  horse.  The  animal  understands  the  sig- 
nal, and  goes  off  with  the  rope,  keeping  an  eye 
on  the  cellar-door.  As  soon  as  he  has  brought 
the  cask  safely  to  ground,  he  stops,  backs  to  al- 
low the  rope  to  be  removed,  and  then  goes  back 
for  another  cask.  This  may  be  seen  almost  any 
day  in  London. 

Mr.  J.  Nelson  Smith  tells  me  that,  while  ex- 
amining one  of  the  American  mines,  he  saw  a 
horse  which  was  doing  his  work  without  the  as- 
sistance of  any  driver.  As  soon  as  his  cart  was 
filled  with  ore,  one  of  the  miners  gave  his  signal, 
and  the  animal  went  off  to  the  spot  where  his  load 
was  to  be  "dumped,"  waited  until  the  cart  was 
unloaded,  and  then  returned  for  another  load. 
The  strangest  point  in  his  conduct  was  that  he 
had  to  take  a  certain  number  of  loads  daily, 
and  knew  when  his  task  was  finished  as  well  as 
did  any  of  the  men.  Mr.  Smith  happened  to 
be  present  at  the  time  when  he  deposited  his 
last  load  for  the  day,  and,  on  seeing  him  trot 
off  quickly  in  another  direction,  was  told  that 
he  knew  his  work  to  be  finished,  and  that  he 
was  going  home,  where  he  would  meet  a  kind 
reception  from  his  mistress. 

A  lady  has  sent  me  the  following  account  of 
a  horse  of  her  own  : 

"We  have  an  old  horse  named  'Jock,'  a 
very  wise  beast,  but  cross-tempered.  He  fell 
when  drawing  Lord  L.'s  carriage,  and,  in  con- 


sequence of  his  broken  knees,  was  purchased 
cheaply. 

"He  knows  his  work  so  well  that  the  man 
who  accompanies  the  cart  does  not  need  to  lead 
or  drive  him,  Jock  preferring  to  do  his  own 
work  in  his  own  way.  I  have  often  seen  him 
take  the  cart  to  the  exact  spot  intended,  turn 
it  round  himself,  and  wait  to  have  it  loaded. 
When  the  cart  is  filled,  he  takes  it  to  the  spot 
where  it  is  needed,  and,  after  it  is  unloaded, 
brings  it  back  again.  He  evidently  enjoys  the 
work,  and  seems  to  take  a  pride  in  it." 

Horses  will  really  do  a  wonderful  amount  of 
work  without  assistance,  if  properly  managed, 
and  will  sometimes  do  so  even  when  employed 
by  owners  who  would  scarcely  be  thought  capa- 
ble of  acting  as  teachers.  In  the  New  Forest, 
a  place  tenanted  by  a  race  of  human  beings  al- 
most independent  of  their  fellow -beings,  and 
holding  their  laws  and  customs  in  equal  scorn, 
I  have  often,  when  driving  along  one  of  the 
roads,  been  obliged  to  turn  off  the  road,  and  to 
manoauvre  both  horse  and  vehicle  into  the  un- 
derwood, in  order  to  allow  a  train  of  wood- 
carts  to  pass.  These  wagons  are  constructed 
in  cool  defiance  of  the  Act  which  prohibits 
more  than  a  certain  width  between  the  wheels, 
so  that  a  cart  will  occupy  the  full  breadth  of 
the  road.  No  one  drove  the  horses ;  but  on 
each  cart  lay  one  or  two  men,  utterly  intox- 
icated, having  managed  to  scramble  into  their 
vehicles  under  the  knowledge  that  their  horses 
would  take  them  safely  to  their  homes. 

I  know  of  a  carrier's  horse  which  acts  in  a 
similar  manner,  though  not  for  a  similar  rea- 
son. The  man  has  to  make  a  night  journey, 
beginning  about  midnight  and  ending  about  six 
A.M.  The  driver  has  such  perfect  confidence 


REASON. 


9] 


in  his  horse  that  he  composes  himself  to  sleep 
as  soon  as  he  has  started,  knowing  that  the  an- 
imal will  stop  at  the  right  house.  Sometimes  he 
is  asleep  when  the  journey  is  over.  The  horse, 
after  looking  around  at  his  master,  and  seeing 
that  the  stopping  of  the  cart  has  not  aroused 
him,  begins  to  stamp  on  the  ground,  and  rattles 
his  harness  until  he  awakes. 

General  Sir  Hope  Grant,  in  his  diary  of  the 
"Incidents  in  the  Sepoy  War,"  narrates  a  most 
remarkable  instance  of  reason  on  the  part  of  a 
horse : 

During  the  war,  after  the  Secundra  Bagh 
had  been  taken  by  our  troops,  the  Europeans 
were  aroused  by  musketry  from  some  unseen 
quarter.  Sir  Hope's  nephew  then  went  to  the 
place,  gaje  his  horse  to  a  Sikh  soldier  to  hold, 
and  went  inside,  when  he  found  that  some  of 
the  rebel  sepoys  were  on  the  top  of  the  wall. 
Finding  themselves  discovered,  the  men,  with 
the  curious  indifference  to  life  that  characterizes 
their  race,  came  down  and  were  shot. 

Suddenly  a  loud  explosion  was  heard.  An 
awkward  soldier  had  fired  into  a  barrel  of  pow- 
der, which,  together  with  a  quantity  of  loose  pow- 
der that  was  scattered  about,  exploded,  and  did 
much  damage.  The  non-commissioned  officer  in 
charge  of  the  Sikh  party  was  so  severely  burned 
that  he  died  a  few  days  afterward ;  and  several 
were  killed,  among  whom  was  the  man  who  was 
holding  the  horse. 

The  animal  was  so  scorched  that  he  had  to 
be  shot.  It  so  happened  that  the  man  to  whom 
this  task  was  intrusted  aimed  badly,  and,  in- 
stead of  killing  the  poor  creature,  only  inflicted 
a  severe  wound  in  the  head. 

The  horse  broke  away,  galloped  directly  to- 
ward a  picket  of  the  enemy,  dashed  through 
them  in  spite  of  their  fire,  and  was  soon  out 
of  sight.  Next  morning  it  was  discovered  that 
the  horse  had  made  his  way  five  miles  in 
straight  line,  and  had  gone  direct  to  the  sick- 
horse  stables  of  the  9th  Lancers.  In  fact,  he 
had  acted  exactly  as  a  wounded  soldier  would 
have  done — gone  to  the  hospital  and  reported 
himself  sick. 

I  wish  I  could  give  a  more  pleasing  end  to 
the  story,  but  the  poor  horse  was  found  to  be 
so  fearfully  injured  that  the  most  humane  course 
was  to  destroy  him  at  once. 

A  very  similar  exercise  of  reason  was  dis- 
played by  a  little  Welsh  pony. 

At  Rhyll  there  are  many  of  these  animals  let 

for  temporary  hire,  and  among  them  was  one 

that  was  ridden  by  a  young  lady  in  delicate 

C 


health,  who  was 

pace.     One  day  in 

seen  dashing  along  at  full  gallop,  until  it  reached 

a  blacksmith's  forge,  into  which  it  went  without 

a  pause,  carrying,  its  unwilling  rider  with  it. 

The  astonished  blacksmith  tried  to  lead  the 
animal  out  of  the  forge,  but  it  resisted  this 
strongly,  and  he  found  that  it  had  cast  a  shoe, 
which  it  wished  to  have  replaced.  Now  in  this 
instance,  as  in  many  others,  reason  conquered 
instinct.  The  instinctive  feelings  of  a  horse 
are  strongly  opposed  to  the  operation  of  shoe- 
ing, and  some  horses  can  scarcely  ever  be  made 
to  stand  still  under  the  process.  It  is  very  nat- 
ural that  they  should  not  like  their  feet  to  be 
hammered  and  filed  and  scraped  and  scorched, 
and  it  therefore  requires  a  very  determined  ex- 
ercise of  reason  to  induce  an  animal  voluntarily 
to  counteract  its  own  instincts. 


In  the  following  account  of  an  elephant's  in- 
genuity in  extricating  himself  from  a  quicksand, 
instinct  is  shown  to  have  no  part.  The  story 
was  sent  to  me  by  the  gentleman  who  witnessed 
the  occurrence,  and  was  one  of  the  party. 

"It  was  at  the  close  of  a  '  pig-sticking '  meet 
on  a  large  island  in  the  Ganges,  opposite  Cawn- 
pore,  in  June,  1873,  that  an  event  occurred  which 
excited  my  admiration.  With  three  friends  I 
had  been  riding  hard  all  the  afternoon,  and,  feel- 
ing very  tired,  we  determined  to  go  home  on  the 
elephant. 

"We  had  traveled  some  way,  and  were  near- 
ing  the  river,  when  one  of  us  noticed  that  the 
ground  looked  rather  unsafe,  and  that  the  ele- 
phant seemed  to  become  uneasy.  So  we  all  de- 
cided to  dismount  and  walk  to  the  river,  pre- 
viously instructing  the  mahout  to  take  the  ele- 
phant by  a  short  circuit,  so  as  to  avoid  the  soft 
ground.  The  man,  however,  evidently  consid- 
ered that  he  knew  better  than  we  did ;  and  we 
therefore  went  straight  on,  not  thinking  of  look- 
ing around. 

"We  had  not  proceeded  far  when  we  heard 
the  elephant  trumpeting  (a  well-known  signal 
of  distress  or  anger),  and  on  looking  around  saw 
that  the  poor  beast  was  in  a  quicksand,  and 
that  the  mahout  had  dismounted  and  was  mak- 
ing the  best  of  his  way  out  of  reach  of  the  ani- 
mal. I  may  here  mention  that  to  be  on  an  ele- 
phant's back  or  within  his  reach  under  such  cir- 
cumstances is  certain  death  :  he  is  sure  to  take 
hold  of  a  man  and  place  him  under  his  feet,  so 
anxious  is  he  to  get  something  solid  to  stand 
upon. 

"We  were  then  about  fifty  yards  from  the 
river,  and  it  was  rapidly  getting  dark.  The  ele- 


34 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


phant  was  making  frantic  efforts  to  escape  out 
of  his  difficulties,  and  the  ground  heaved  all 
around  him.  How  to  help  him  we  did  not 
know ;  for  he  was  sinking  deeper  and  deeper, 
and  go  near  him  we  dared  not. 

"As  good  fortune  would  have  it,  there  hap- 
pened to  be  at  hand  a  number  of  large  planks 
which  had  been  left  by  some  villagers.  We 
went  as  near  the  elephant  as  we  dared,  and 
threw  the  planks  within  his  reach.  The  clever 
animal  seized  them  in  his  trunk,  drew  them  to 
him,  and  laid  them  one  upon  the  other  in  front 
of  him.  When  he  thought  that  he  had  enough, 
with  one  gigantic  effort  he  got  his  fore  legs  out 
of  the  quicksand,  and  in  a  short  time  he  had 
managed  to  extricate  himself,  and  was  stand- 
ing  safely  on  the  planks,  though  trembling  all 
.over. 

•*'Hs  had  still  some  fifty  yards  to  go  before 
•he  .could  reach  the  river,  and  the  intelligent 
beast  never  moved  a  step  until  he  got  a  plank 
and  placed  it  in  front  of  him.  He  thus  moved 
on,  step  .by  step,  on  successive  planks,  until  he 
reached  the  river.  The  mahout  then  remounted 
him,  and  he  crossed  the  Ganges  in  safety.  This 
was  no  small  relief  to  our  feelings ;  for  the  loss 
of  the  elephant  would  not  only  have  been  a  very 
costly  business,  but  the  mode  of  his  death  would 
have  been  inexpressibly  painful." 

The  following  account  of  reasoning  in  a  cat 
was  communicated  to  me  by  its  mistress,  Lady 
E.,  whom  I  have  known  for  many  years.  The 
animal  evidently  felt  surprised  that  such  a  thing 
as  an  empty  plate  should  be  allowed  upon  a 
breakfast-table,  and  so,  in  her  own  way,  showed 
her  mistress  how  a  plate  ought  to  be  filled. 

"  Our  breakfast-room  had  bow-windows,  and 
the  houses  were  very  near  each  other. 

"One  morning,  when  the  windows  of  both 
houses  were  open,  our  younger  cat,  Tiny,  disap- 
peared into  our  neighbor's  window,  and  a  few 
minutes  after  rushed  back  into  our  room,  and, 
leaping  upon  the  breakfast- table  with  a  lobster 
in  her  month,  held  it  over  an  empty  plate.  She 
evidently  only  wished  us  to  see  it,  as  she  would 
•  not  allow  any  one  to  touch  it,  and  darting  out  of 
the  window  again,  with  the  lobster  still  in  her 
mouth,  she  replaced  it  upon  the  table  without 
taking  any,  and  came  back  to  our  room. 

"The  lobster  was  returned  so  carefully  that 
our  neighbors  assured  us  they  should  not  have 
known  it  had  been  touched." 

The  same  lady  has  sent  me  several  anecdotes 
of  this  same  cat  and  her  mother  "Rosie,"  all  of 
which  are  interesting,  and  serve  admirably  to  il- 
lustrate the  subject  of  this  work. 


Several  good  instances  of  reasoning  as  dis- 
played by  rats  are  given  in  Hardwicke's  Sci- 
ence Gossip  for  July,  1871.  A  number  of  rats 
had  got  into  a  basket  of  grapes,  and  devoured  a 
considerable  part  of  the  contents.  The  man  who 
discovered  them  replaced  the  basket,  in  hopes 
that  they  would  again  visit  it  and  be  caught ; 
but  the  wary  animals  never  again  came  to  the 
basket  in  which  they  had  been  detected. 

They  were  so  numerous  and  so  bold  that  they 
used  to  come  and  pick  up  the  crumbs  from  be- 
tween the  men's  feet  as  they  sat  at  meals. 
"  Wishing  for  a  shot  at  some  of  them,  I  dropped 
a  few  grains  of  maize  on  the  ground,  and  took 
up  my  position,  gun  in  hand.  Soon  one  rat 
bounded  across  the  space  as  if  in  great  alarm  ; 
but  no  rat  touched  a  grain  of  the  corn,  which 
was  exposed  for  several  days  and  nights,  being 
at  last  crushed  and  lost  by  the  passing  of  feet 
and  goods. 

"Rats  were  numerous  in  the  pigsties,  and  ate 
with  the  pigs,  one  of  which  I  turned  out  of  her 
sty,  and  contrived  a  trap-door  to  close  the  trough 
by  pulling  a  cord.  I  baited  the  trough  with 
ground  maize,  of  which  they  are  very  fond  ;  but 
neither  by  day  nor  by  night  would  a  rat  venture 
there  as  long  as  the  pig  was  excluded.  Return- 
ing the  pig  to  the  sty,  the  rats  also  returned." 

I  know  of  a  similar  case  in  which  the  rats 
were  so  many  and  so  bold  that  they  forced  them- 
selves into  the  troughs  at  feeding -time,  would 
not  be  driven  away,  and  consumed  no  small 
amount  of  the  food  which  ought  to  have  gone  to 
the  pigs.  The  owner  of  the  pigs  then  laid  a  gun 
so  as  to  rake  the  trough,  turned  out  the  pigs, 
and  had  the  trough  filled  as  usual.  Not  a  rat 
would  make  its  appearance ;  and  at  last  the  pigs 
were  put  back,  when  the  rats  came  trooping  in 
as  numerous  and  as  bold  as  ever. 

Now,  in  these  cases,  the  rats  could  not  have 
known  the  precise  danger  which  menaced  them ; 
but  they  saw  that  something  unusual  had  hap- 
pened, and  therefore  inferred  that  it  would  be 
the  safer  plan  to  keep  out  of  the  way  until  the 
ordinary  conditions  were  restored. 

Many  birds  display  great  reasoning  powers, 
and  act  in  a  way  that  would  do  credit  to  any 
human  being.  From  the  many  anecdotes 
which  have  been  placed  at  my  disposal  I  select 
only  a  few,  none  of  which  have  as  yet  been  pub- 
lished. 

In  places  where  pheasants  are  preserved  it  is 
customary  to  give  them  their  food  in  such  a  way 
that  other  birds  can  not  get  at  it.  This  is  done 
by  placing  it  in  a  feeding-box,  which  is  closed 
by  a  lid,  communicating  by  a  lever  with  a  perch. 


REASON. 


35 


The  weight  of  the  lid  is  so  adjusted  that  when  a 
pheasant  stands  on  the  perch  the  lid  is  raised, 
and  the  bird  can  get  at  the  food.  The  pheas- 
ants soon  learn  the  object  of  the  perch,  for,  when 
these  boxes  are  first  introduced,  a  few  beans  are 
laid  on  the  outside  of  the  lid.  The  bird  gets  on 
the  perch  in  order  to  reach  them,  and  so  exposes 
the  stores  of  food  in  the  box. 

Such  an  arrangement  is  made  at  Mountquhar- 
rie,  Cupar,  Fife ;  and  one  day  a  gentleman  was 
watching  the  pheasants  and  their  boxes  on  the 
lawn  just  before  the  house,  and  saw  a  crow  also 
watching  them.  Presently  the  crow  flew  to  one 
of  the  boxes,  settled  upon  the  perch,  and  expect- 
ed the  box  to  open.  The  bird,  however,  being 
much  lighter  than  a  pheasant,  was  unable  to  lift 
the  lid  in  spite  of  all  its  efforts.  After  several 
ineffectual  attempts  it  flew  off  to  a  tree  where 
there  was  another  crow,  and  a  grand  jabbering 
ensued.  The  two  crows  then  flew  to  the  feed- 
ing-box, both  settled  on  the  perch,  and  their 
united  weight  was  sufficient  to  raise  the  lid. 

It  is  impossible  to  attribute  this  proceeding  to 
any  thing  but  reason.  Instinct  is  wholly  out  of 
the  question  in  such  a  case  as  this.  The  bird 
first  watches  the  pheasants,  and  learns  that  by 
settling  on  a  certain  perch  the  box  is  opened 
and  the  contents  attainable.  It  then  proceeds 
to  follow  the  example  of  the  pheasants,  judging 
that  the  same  result  would  follow.  Finding  that, 
although  it  acted  exactly  as  did  the  pheasant,  the 
lid  was  not  raised,  it  set  itself  to  discover  the 
cause  of  failure,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  succeeded 
in  so  doing.  Having  reflected  that  the  pheasant 
could  lift  the  lid  on  account  of  its  superior  weight, 
the  bird  calculated  that  two  crows  might  be  equal 
in  weight  to  one  pheasant.  So  it  goes  off  to  find 
a  comrade,  explains  the  state  of  things  in  its  own 
bird  language,  and  the  two  then  co-operate  in 
producing  the  desired  effect.  No  human  being 
could  reason  more  corredly,  or  reduce  its  theory 
to  action  more  successfully.  • 

That  the  raven  can  act  in  a  similar  manner  is 
shown  by  an  anecdote  sent  by  Mr.  R.  Ball  to 
Mr.  Thompson,  and  quoted  in  his  "Natural 
History  of  Ireland:" 

"When  I  was  a  boy  at  school,  a  tame  raven 
"was  very  attentive  in  watching  our  cribs  or  bird- 
traps,  and  when  a  bird  wa's  taken  he  endeavored 
to  catch  it  by  turning  up  the  crib  ;  but  in  so  do- 
ing the  bird  always  escaped,  as  he  could  not  let 
go  the  crib  in  time  to  seize  it.  After  several 
vain  attempts  of  this  kind,  the  raven,  seeing  an- 
other bird  caught,  instead  of  going  at  once  to  the 
crib,  went  to  another  tame  raven  and  induced  it 
to  accompany  him,  when  the  one  lifted  up  the 


crib  and  the  other  bore  the  poor  captive  off  in 
triumph." 

Crows  are  wonderfully  sagacious,  and  seem  to 
notice  every  thing. 

A  gentleman,  pne  of  the  principals  in  a  well- 
known  engineering  firm,  tells  me  that  the  way 
in  which  crows  rob  the  railway-boxes  of  the 
grease  is  quite  notorious  among  those  who  are 
connected  with  the  lines. 

As  my  readers  are  probably  aware,  each  of 
the  wheels  has  an  iron  box  over  the  axle  in  or- 
der to  contain  the  grease  which  lubricates  the 
wheels.  Cocoa-nut  oil  is  used  for  this  purpose, 
as  it  is  solid  at  moderate  temperatures,  and  only 
melts  and  sinks  upon  the  axle  when  the  latter  is 
heated  by  over-friction.  Indeed,  if  cocoa-nut  oil 
had  not  been  discovered,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine 
how  railways  could  be  carried  on.  The  boxes 
are  closed  with  spring  lids,  and  we  have  most  of 
us  seen  the  porter,  armed  with  a  little  pail  of  co- 
coa-nut oil  and  a  wooden  spatula,  open  the  box 
with  the  spatula,  fill  it  with  the  yellow  grease, 
and  slap  down  the  lid  upon  the  box,  where  it  is 
kept  in  position  by  a  spring.  .This  is  absolutely 
necessary  in  order  to  prevent  the  oil  from  being 
mixed  with  the  cinders  ejected  from  the  engine 
and  the  particles  of  earth  driven  up  by  the  wheels. 

Now  it  happens  that  crows  value  the  cocoa- 
nut  oil  as  much  as  we  do,  but  for  a  different 
reason.  They  consider  it  to  be  a  great  dainty, 
and  so,  when  a  train  is  standing  still  on  a  siding 
and  no  one  near,  the  crows  flock  to  it,  substitute 
their  strong  beaks  for  the  porter's  wooden  spatu- 
la, pry  up  the  spring  lids,  and  help  themselves 
to  the  yellow  oil. 

It  is  evident  that  they  must  act  from  reason 
and  not  from  instinct.  Some  of  them  had  seen 
the  porters  lifting  up  the  lids,  and  had  followed 
their  example.  All  the  crow  tribe  are  wonder- 
fully expert  in  the  use  of  their  beaks,  and  the 
dainty  manner  in  which  a  raven,  a  magpie,  or  a 
jackdaw  will  turn  over,  twist,  and  display  with 
its  beak  any  object  that  may  excite  its  curiosity 
could  scarcely  be  surpassed  if  the  bird  possessed 
a  hand  instead  of  a  beak. 

My  raven, "  Grip,"  who  unfortunately  died  from 
eating  too  much  linen,  had  astonishing  delicacy 
in  the  touch  of  his  great  iron  beak.  If  I  tied  a 
knot  in  a  piece  of  string  and  left  it  within  his 
reach,  he  was  sure  to  untie  it,  and  then  walk 
about  triumphantly  with  one  end  of  the  string  in 
his  beak.  He  had  a  large  wooden  cage  made 
from  a  chest,  and  faced  with  strong  iron  bars. 
A  hole  was  cut  in  the  end  of  the  box,  leading  to 
a  large  "run,"  inclosed  with  wire  netting. 

There  was  not  a  spot  at  which  the  netting  had 
been  joined  that  had  not  been  tested  by  Grip's 


36 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


beak,  and  more  than  once  I  have  just  been  in 
time  to  prevent  his  escape.  He  always  resented 
my  interference,  and  used  to  seize  in  his  beak  the 
wire  with  which  I  was  making  the  defect  good, 
and  try  to  pull  it  out  of  my  hands.  At  last  he 
gave  up  the  wire  net,  and  turned  his  attention 
to  the  bars  of  the  cage.  They  were  much  too 
strong  for  him  to  bend,  but  he  deliberately  set  to 
work  at  one  of  the  central  bars,  and  dug  away 
the  wood  in  which  it  was  set  until  he  had  loosen- 
ed it  at  the  bottom.  Fortunately  I  was  just  in 
time  to  see  him  pulling  at  the  bar,  or  there  would 
have  been  an  escaped  raven  and  frightful  havoc 
among  the  poultry  kept  by  my  next-door  neighbor. 

Directly  Grip  saw  me  he  set  up  a  great  squall, 
and  did  his  best  to  get  out  the  bar  before  I  could 
reach  him.  I  at  once  sent  for  wire  and  pliers, 
and  at  last  succeeded  in  connecting  the  whole  of 
the  bars  with  cross-wire,  so  that  unless  all  the 
bars  were  dug  out  both  above  and  below  they 
would  hold  their  place. 

Grip  was  horribly  angry  during  the  time,  and 
tried  to  annoy  me  as  much  as  possible  by  strik- 
ing at  my  fingers  through  the  bars,  and  trying  to 
pull  away  the  wire.  Once  he  did  seize  the  pliers, 
and  I  was  obliged  to  bring  on  the  scene  my  dog 
"  Bosco,"  whom  Grip  hated  beyond  conception, 
before  I  could  induce  him  to  drop  the  pliers. 
Bosco's  presence,  however,  elicited  a  scream  of 
rage ;  and  as  the  pliers  fell  from  his  beak,  I  se- 
cured possession  of  them.  He  afterward  tested 
the  wires  from  end  to  end,  tried  to  undo  every 
knot,  and,  finding  himself  baffled,  gave  up  the 
whole  business  as  a  bad  job. 

Here  are  some  parrot  anecdotes,  all  perfectly 
original : 

"A  parrot,  belonging  to  one  of  our  servants, 
very  soon  knew  us  by  name,  and  could  distinguish 
the  tread  of  its  favorites,  showing  its  joy  by  ruf- 
fling its  feathers  and  making  an  odd  noise  in  the 
throat.  '  Polly '  was  very  tame,  and  was  sometimes 
allowed  to  walk  about  the  house,  always  announc- 
ing its  arrival  in  a  room  by  'Polly  going  a- walk- 
ing.' In  hot  weather  she  enjoyed  having  water 
poured  over  her,  and  when  satisfied  would  say, 
'That's  enough.' 

"She  used  to  tease  our  large  dog  by  whistling 
loudly,  and  calling  him  'Bran!  Bran!'  on  which 
he  ran  in  and  looked  around,  and  on  the  cook 
coming  in,  Polly  would  say  reprovingly, '  Go  back, 
Bran,  go  back ;'  out  went  Bran,  and  by  and  by, 
when  the  cook's  back  was  turned,  the  same  scene 
was  acted  over  again,  until  Bran  grew  wiser  and 
neglected  the  call. 

"Polly  was  a  very  accomplished  bird,  and, 
when  quite  alone,  could  be  heard  going  through 


her  acquirements.  She  sang  'Cheer  boy?,  cheer,' 
very  plainly,  and  could  dance.  If  any  stranger 
went  into  the  kitchen,  and  no  one  was  there, 
Polly  called  out, '  Somebody's  wanted;'  and  she 
has  more  than  once  startled  people  by  saying, 
'  What's  your  business  ?' 

"We  used  to  go  in  and  see  Polly  before  we 
went  to  bed,  and  she  always  said  '  Good-night ' 
several  times,  each  time  in  a  different  tone  of 
voice.  She  called  mamma  '  my  dear '  until  told 
that  it  was  not  respectful,  after  which  she  always 
said  '  ma'am.'  The  remarks  this  bird  made  were 
so  apposite  that  it  really  seemed  at  times  as  if  it 
understood  what  was  going  on." 

I  know  a  parrot,  or,  correctly  speaking,  a  ring- 
ed parrakeet,  that  acts,  as  the  servants  say,  "just 
like  a  Christian. "  If  told  to  call  the  cat,  she  will 
sometimes  mew  loudly,  and  sometimes  call  the 
cat  by  its  name,  "Winks,"  which  is  an  abbrevia- 
tion of  Tiddlywinks.  She  makes  the  room  ring 
again  with  the  name,  her  voice  is  so  powerful. 
Sometimes  she  will  play  at  hide  and  seek ;  and 
if  her  mistress  gets  under  the  table,  Polly  trav- 
erses it  in  all  directions,  and,  not  seeing  her, 
knocks  violently  on  the  table  with  her  beak,  in 
order  to  induce  her  mistress  to  come  out  of  her 
hiding-place. 

In  the  following  history  of  a  self-tamed  red- 
breast, we  shall  see  that  instinct  plays  but  a  very 
small  part,  almost  the  whole  of  the  bird's  proceed- 
ings, as  weir  as  those  of  his  family,  being  insti- 
gated by  pure  reason  without  any  admixture  of 
instinct.  To  the  lady  who  sent  me  the  anecdote 
I  am  indebted  for  several  of  my  most  interest- 
ing accounts  of  animal  life.  She  does  not  wish 
her  name  to  be  mentioned,  but  it  is  well  known 
throughout  the  whole  literary  world : 

"  In  the  years  1864  and  1865  a  robin  made  it- 
self at  home  in  my  dining-room,  always  coming 
to  the  window  and  tapping  to  have  it  opened  at 
breakfast  -  time.  When  he  came  in,  he  shared 
my  oatmeal  porridge  with  me,  seating  himself  on 
the  edge  of  the  cup  and  picking  out  such  grains 
as  caught  his  fancy.  He  then  picked  up  crumbs 
of  bread  or  toast,  and,  when  he  had  satisfied  him- 
self, he  sat  on  the  back  of  my  chair  and  sang,  or 
sometimes  betook  himself  to  the  top  of  a  large 
screen.  When  he  wished  the  window  to  be  open- 
ed for  him,  he  used  to  make  a  peculiar  little  noise, 
unlike  any  sound  I  ever  heard  from  a  bird — not 
loud,  but  very  much  like  articulate  language. 

"As  you  may  fancy,  he  was  a  great  favorite 
with  every  one  in  the  house.  If  the  day  were 
very  cold,  he  always  seated  himself  on  the  edge 
of  the  fender  as  soon  as  he  was  let  in,  puffing  out 
his  feathers  to  receive  the  heat,  and,  when  he 


REASON. 


37 


found  that  he  was  warm  enough,  he  came  to  his 
breakfast. 

"  During  the  summer  of  1864  he  came  occa- 
sionally to  the  window,  but  seldom  came  in,  and 
then  only  for  a  moment,  though  he  would  some- 
times follow  me  out  of  doors.  In  the  winter  of 
180-t-o  he  again  established  himself  in  the  house, 
on  his  own  familiar  terms,  and  became  even  a 
greater  pet  than  ever.  He  then  began  to  prefer 
the  butter-cooler  to  the  porridge-cup  for  his 
breakfast,  but  I  never  allowed  him  to  take  too 
much.  He  almost  lived  in  the  house,  sometimes 
remaining  all  night  when  the  weather  was  bad. 

' '  When  summer  came  around  again,  he  appear- 
ed one  day  at  the  window  with  his  wife  and  chil- 
dren, who  sat  on  the  ledge  of  the  window  while 
he  entered  and  took  food  out  to  them.  It  then 
came  out  that  of  late  he  had  often  been  detected 
in  carrying  off  food  from  the  peacock's  bowl 
which  I  kept  in  the  dining-room ;  this  food  he 
had  doubtless  carried  to  his  lady  in  her  nest : 
the  dining-room  window,  being  mostly  open  in 
summer,  gave  him  access  to  the  bowl. 

"A  sister-in-law  of  mine  and  her  daughters 
came  to  stay  with  me  just  then,  and  to  see  the 
little  redbreasts  get  their  breakfast  daily  from 
their  papa  was  one  of  our  morning's  amuse- 
ments. 

"  But,  alas !  one  day  he  came  looking  very  ill, 
with  his  feathers  puffed  out,  and  looking  twice 
his  natural  size.  I  observed  that  he  swallowed 
large  lumps  of  butter  himself  while  helping  his 
young  ones.  This  went  on  for  some  days,  and 
at  last  he  did  not  make  his  appearance  at  all ; 
his  wife  and  family  came  without  him,  and  then 
we  knew  that  he  must  be  dead.  There  was  gen- 
eral mourning  for  poor  '  Bobby  '  in  the  house.  I 
have  never  had  so  tame  a  redbreast  before  or 
since,  though  his  wife  and  children,  who  seemed 
to  miss  him  much,  still  continued  to  receive  their 
dole  at  the  window. 

"  I  heard  a  still  more  wonderful  story  about  a 
robin  from  my  sister-in-law,  who  knew  the  lady 
to  whom  the  birdfbelonged.  She  had  made  it 
so  tame  that  it  used  to  fly  after  her  carriage ; 
and  when  she  went  in  the  winter  to  spend  a  few 
days  with  a  friend  who  lived  several  miles  from  her 
house,  the  bird  followed  her.  On  the  following 
morning,  when  she  opened  the  window  accord- 
ing to  custom  and  called  the  robin,  he  at  once 
entered  the  room  and  perched  on  her  finger. 

"Was  not  this  very  like  reason  ?  It  certainly 
was  a  combination  of  ideas.  The  bird  had  fol- 
lowed his  mistress  to  a  strange  place,  slept  there, 
and  came  at  her  call,  trusting  to  her  for  his  break- 
fast. My  sister-in-law  was  staying  at  the  house 
at  the  time,  and  witnessed  the  circumstance." 


In  the  former  of  these  two  cases,  reason  taught 
the  bird  to  conquer  its  instinct,  which  teaches  it 
to  fear  man  and  avoid  him.  The  bird  soon  found 
that  he  was  being  kindly  treated,  and,  reasoning 
upon  such  premises,  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
he  would  be  treated  in  the  same  manner  for  the 
future.  Then,  that  birds  must  have  a  language 
in  which  to  express  their  ideas  is  evident  from 
the  fact  that  his  wife  and  family  accompanied  him 
to  the  house,  and  waited  outside  while  he  went 
and  brought  out  food  for  them.  The  reason  why 
they  did  not  enter  the  house  is  evident  to  all  who 
know  the  habits  of  the  redbreast.  It  is  one  of 
the  most  jealous  of  birds,  and  never  will  allow 
another  bird  to  enter  the  place  of  which  it  has 
pleased  him  to  consider  himself  the  owner. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  but  that  he  had  pre- 
viously forbidden  his  family  to  enter  the  house 
where  he  felt  himself  a  privileged  inmate. 

The  capability  of  cats  for  opening  doors,  ring- 
ing bells,  etc.,  is  perfectly  well  known.  There 
was  a  cat  named  "Patch"  who  was  a  great 
adept  in  these  arts.  One  evening  she  came  out 
of  a  bedroom  in  a  state  of  great  excitement  as 
the  occupant  went  in,  mewed  and  fidgeted  about ; 
went  up  to  an  unlighted  candle,  though  there  was 
a  fire  in  the  room,  back  to  the  lady  and  then 
again  to  the  candle,  and  would  not  be  contented 
until  it  was  lighted.  Then  she  drew  particular 
attention  to  the  window -curtain,  reaching  up 
with  her  paw  as  far  as  she  could,  and  touching 
it.  The  curtain  being  shaken,  out  dropped  a 
mouse,  which  Patch  immediately  seized  and  car- 
ried off.  She  had,  probably,  previously  brought 
it  into  the  room,  as  she  was  in  the  habit  of  doing 
so  with  her  prey,  and  on  two  or  three  occasions 
dead  mice  were  found  deposited  in  the  bed. 

My  own  cat,  * '  Pret, "  has  often  behaved  in  a 
similar  manner,  and  has  brought  me  to  help  him 
in  getting  at  a  mouse*  which  had  hidden  itself  in 
some  spot  where  he  could  not  reach  it. 

I  might  multiply  anecdotes  to  an  indefinite  ex- 
tent, but  have  thought  it  better  to  take  a  com- 
parative few,  nearly  all  of  which  have  been  as  yet 
unpublished.  The  reader  will  see  that  in  no  one 
of  these  cases  does  instinct  play  any  part,  and 
that  in  the  generality  of  them  the  reasoning  pow- 
ers of  the  animal  have  overcome  its  natural  in- 
stincts. 

Here  is  an  example  of  reason  and  the  power 
of  combination  in  the  rat.  The  writer  was  at 
the  time  resident  in  Liverpool : 

"  In  my  garden  there  is  a  conservatory,  along 
the  roof  of  which  is  trained  a  vine,  on  which  the 
fruit  would  not  ripen  for  the  last  few  years,  so  I 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


had  the  vine  inclosed  in  a  glass  frame  in  the 
hope  that,  the  heat  being  confined,  the  grapes 
would  ripen  better  than  when  exposed  to  the  cold 
night  air.  This  plan  being  successful,  I  had  this 
year  a  plentiful  crop  of  large-sized  bunches  of 
grapes.  These,  however,  began  to  disappear 
very  quickly  as  soon  as  ripe,  but  not  bunch  by 
bunch  as  would  be  done  by  thieves,  but  only  the 
ripest  grapes  of  each  bunch  were  taken. 

"At  first,  I  thought  that  some  of  the  boys 
working  in  the  garden  had  been  helping  them- 
selves ;  but  all  denied  it,  and  no  one  had  seen 
them  near  the  glass  house.  Then  I  sealed  up 
the  door  of  the  covering,  but  still  the  fruit  disap- 
peared. So  I  told  the  gardener  to  cut  all  the 
good  fruit  and  take  it  into  the  house  when  I  re- 
turned home  in  the  evening  ;  after  giving  the  or- 
der, the  gardener  came  in  with  gleeful  visage  and 
said,  '  I've  got  the  thieves,  sir,'  and  told  his  tale 
in  that  roundabout  way  which  men  in  his  condi- 
tion love,  of  which  the  following  is  the  condensed 
description : 

"  '  When  lying  on  my  back  for  rest  after  cut- 
ting a  lot  of  branches,  I  heard  a  scuffling  sort  of 
sound,  and  looked  around  and  saw  five  or  six  large 
brown  rats  come  into  the  frame ;  they  then  jump- 
ed up  at  the  lowest  hanging  branches  and  man- 
aged to  knock  down  two  or  three  grapes,  which 
they  proceeded  to  eat  like  a  squirrel,  sitting  up 
on  their  hind  legs  and  holding  the  fruit  in  their 
front  paws. 

"  '  Soon  after,  a  large  female,  followed  by  four 
young  ones,  came  in ; .  and  the  old  one  ran  up  the 
vine  and  bit  off  one  of  the  ripest  bunches,  which 
fell  down  to  the  expecting  young  ones  below,  who 
fastened  on  it  and  began  to  eat.  Then,'  conclud- 
ed the  old  man,  'I  could  not  keep  my  laugh  any 
longer,  but  shouted  out,  which  sent  them  all  head 
over  heels  out,  as  if  a  dog  were  after  them.'  " 

A  curious  instance  of  reason  in  the  fox  has 
been  furnished  to  me  by  an  eye-witness : 

"  I  will  now  tell  you  a  story  of  a  fox.  Some 
years  ago,  when  I  lived  in  a  lonely  but  beautiful 
part  of  the  Lammermoors,  there  came  a  dread- 
ful snow-storm.  All  nature  was  white  for  miles, 


as  if  wrapped  in  a  winding-sheet,  and  birds  and 
beasts  were  put  to  strange  shifts  for  food. 

"I  was  talking  with  one  of  my  shepherds, 
when  far  away  on  the  opposite  side,  and  on  the 
top  of  what  is  here  called  a  cleugh  or  hollow,  I 
espied  a  small  dark  object.  It  was  the  only  one 
in  the  vast  expanse  of  snow,  and  it  appeared  to 
me  to  be  moving.  I  pointed  it  out  to  the  shep- 
herd, who  said  that  it  was  a  tuft  of  heather,  from 
which  the  snow  had  drifted.  I  watched  it  more 
carefully,  and,  feeling  sure  that  it  really  did  move, 
I  went  into  the  house  for  my  gun,  and  told  the 
shepherd  to  accompany  me.  ^" 

"Slowly  we  plodded  our  weary  way  through 
snow  up  to  our  waists  in  some  places  ;  and  when 
we  arrived  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  the 
mysterious  object,  it  was  revealed  in  the  shape  of 
a  crafty  fox,  who  deliberately  walked  away,  every 
now  and  then  stopping  to  look  at  us. 

"  It  was  evident  what  he  had  been  doing.  He 
had  coiled  himself  round  so  as  to  look  like  a  bunch 
of  heather  (and  done  it  so  well  that  he  had  even 
deceived  the  practiced  eyes  of  the  shepherd),  and 
thus  decoyed  the  hungry  grouse  near  enough  to 
seize  them.  That  he  had  succeeded  was  plain, 
from  the  feathers  and  other  remains  of  several 
birds  which  lay  near  the  spot  where  we  first  saw 
him.  Foxie  is  a  rare  purveyor,  and  nothing  can 
beat  him." 

A  rather  amusing  instance  of  reason  in  a  dog 
has  been  narrated  to  me.  The  animal  was  a 
Newfoundland,  and  of  a  quiet  disposition.  There 
was,  however,  a  much  larger  and  quarrelsome  dog 
of  the  same  kind,  who  was  frequently  meeting 
"  Lion,"  and  taking  every  opportunity  of  molest- 
ing him. 

One  day  the  big  dog  met  him,  and  evidently 
bent  upon  a  fight.  Whereupon  Lion,  knowing 
that  he  was  no  match  for  his  antagonist  without 
some  aid,  ran  off  to  a  neighboring  manure-heap, 
and  rolled  himself  over  and  over  in  it,  until  he 
was  completely  covered.  He  then  went  back  to 
his  enemy,  challenged  him,  fought  him  and  beat 
him  thoroughly,  and  after  that  victory  the  big  dog 
always  gave  Lion  a  wide  berth. 


LANGUAGE— OF  ANIMALS. 


39 


CHAPTER  V. 

LANGUAGE   [OF  ANIMALS]. 

Ideas  Useless  unless  they  can  be  Transmitted.— Language  the  Means  of  Transmission.— Various  Kinds  of 
Language. —The  Spoken  Language,  or  Language  of  Words — The  Gesture-Language,  or  Language  of 
Signs. — The  Language  of  the  Eye,  or  a  Direct  Transmission  of  Ideas  without  the  Aid  of  Words  or  Gest- 
ures.—Language  of  Insects.  — The  Wasps  at  my  Breakfast  -  table :  a  Messenger  and  Result  of  the  Mes- 
sage. —  Language  among  the  Ants:  Severity  of  their  Military  Discipline.  —  Ant-Uudertakers.— A  Sum- 
mary Execution. — Power  of  Combination  and  Submission,  to  a  Single  Leader. — Comparison  with  the 
Egyptian  and  Assyrian  Laborers.— Language  among  Dogs.— A  Tempter  and  his  Victim.— Language  and 
Combination  among  Dogs.  —  Ditto  among  Wolves.  —  A  Specific  and  a  Universal  Language  among  Ani- 
mals.— Language  and  Combination  among  Baboons. — Monkeys  and  the  Charge  through  the  Mud. — Di- 
vision of  Labor  between  Dogs. —Mutual  Arrangements  between  a  Dog  and  a  Cat.  — Rook  Parliament 
seen  by  a  Lady  in  England.— Ditto  by  a  Gentleman  iu  India — Ditto  by  a  Gentleman  in  Cornwall.— A  Thrush 
Parliament  Discussing  the  Fruit  Question.  —  Martins  Sitting  in  Judgment  on  a  Sparrow,  and  Killing 
Him. — "Beau"  and  his  Rescuer. — A  Quarrel  and  a  Peacemaker. — The  Goose,  the  Ducklings,  and  the  Hen. 


THE  possession  of  ideas,  whether  they  be  right 
or  wrong,  infers  more  or  less  reason  in  those  be- 
ings who  possess  them.  Those  ideas  would  be  ab- 
solutely unknown  without  some  means  of  trans- 
mitting them,  and  such  means  we  call  by  the 
name  of  Language. 

There  are  several  kinds  and  degrees  of  lan- 
guage known  to  ourselves.  First  comes  the 
spoken  language,  in  which  ideas  are  clothed  in 
certain  definitely  regulated  sounds.  Then  there 
is  the  written  language,  in  which  those  sounds 
are  reduced  to  form,  and  are  heard  with  the  eye 
instead  of  the  ear. 

Then  there  is  the  language  of  gesture,  which 
is  little  employed  among  ourselves,  but  in  some 
parts  of  the  earth  forms  a  necessary  concomitant 
to  the  spoken  language,  or  can  be  substituted  for 
it.  The  Bosjesmans  of  Southern  Africa,  for  ex- 
ample, are  unable  to  converse  with  freedom  when 
in  the  dark,  the  visible  gestures  being  needed  to 
supplement  the  audible  words.  This  necessity 
is  so  great  that  if  they  wish  to  talk  in  a  dark 
night  they  are  obliged  to  light  a  fire. 

Among  the  North  American  Indian  tribes  the 
language  of  gesture  forms  an  important  part  of 
every  man's  education.  There  are  very  many 
of  these  tribes,  and  they  all  speak  different  dia- 
lects, which  in  many  cases  vary  so  much  that 
they  are  practically  different  languages. 

Were  it  not  for  some  other  means  of  commu- 
nication besides  spoken  words,  no  one  would  be 
able  to  converse  with  another  who  did  not  hap- 
pen to  belong  to  his  own  tribe.  Gestures,  how- 
ever, take  the  place  of  words,  and  form  a  uni- 


versal language.  This  sign  -  language  is  very 
simple,  is  based  upon  definite  principles,  and  is 
easy  of  attainment.  Captain  Burton  has  writ- 
ten an  account  of  the  sign-language,  which  ought 
to  be  carefully  read  by  all  travelers.  The  lan- 
guage as  given  by  him  is  easily  mastered,  and  by 
its  use,  acquired  in  a  few  hours,  an  Englishman 
would  be  capable  of  conversing  with  any  of  the 
savage  tribes  of  North  American  Indians  with- 
out understanding  a  single  word  of  their  spoken 
language. 

The  English,  in  consequence  of  their  physical 
constitution,  which  their  Continental  neighbors 
are  pleased  to  call  "phlegmatic,"  use  gesture-lan- 
guage less  than  almost  any  nation  upon  earth, 
looking  upon  gesture  in  connection  with  language 
much  as  they  do  upon  ornament  in  connection 
with  objects  of  utility.  Yet  even  they  use  it, 
though  sparingly,  and  almost  unconsciously. 

That  its  use  is  natural  is  shown  by  the  un- 
taught and  graceful  gesture-language  of  a  child, 
which  is  able  to  express  its  thoughts  by  gesture 
long  before  it  obtains  the  power  of  speech.  I 
knew  a  child  who  managed  to  express  himself 
so  well  by  gesture  that  he  did  not  trouble  him- 
self to  speak  a  word  until  after  he  had  completed 
his  third  year.  His  mother  was  terribly  dis- 
tressed at  his  backwardness  ;  but  after  he  found 
the  use  of  his  tongue  he  more  than  compensated 
for  his  previous  silence,  and  I  fancy  that  his 
mother  would  occasionally  have  preferred  an  in- 
terval of  the  gesture-language  which  had  been 
so  distasteful  to  her. 

In  maturer  years  this  silent  language  survives. 


40 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


To  take  a  few  familiar  examples  :  The  uplifted 
finger  expresses  the  idea  of  warning  as  plainly  as 
if  the  word  had  been  used.  If  one  person  tell 
another  a  tale,  and  his  narrative  be  received  with 


of  personages  and  all  kinds  of  emotions,  as  long 
as  the  gestures  can  be  represented.  An  old, 
gray -headed,  long -bearded  man,  with  his  hair 
tossing  in  the  wind  and  his  hands  wildlv  clinch- 


an  almost  imperceptible  shrug  of  the  shoulder,    ed,  represents  grief  and  madness,  as  personated 


incredulity  is  expressed  as  clearly  and  as  offens- 
ively as  if  the  lie  had  been  given  in  words. 
Similarly,  the  upraised  eyebrows  express  won- 
der, but  at  the  same  time  imply  belief. 

To  shake  the  closed  fist  expresses  menace, 
and  indeed  such  a  gesture  is  actionable  at  law. 
To  present  the  palms  of  the  hands  toward  an 


in  Lear.  The  same  individual,  with  face  up- 
raised and  a  harp  on  his  knee,  will  be  adoration, 
personified  by  David.  Let  him  shut  his  eyes 
and  hold  out  his  hands,  and  he  represents  digni- 
fied penury  in  the  person  of  Belisarius.  The 
same  rule  holds  good  with  sculptors.  Man  real- 
ly could  not  go  through  existence  without  a  gest- 


object  expresses  rejection,  while  the  open  arms  '  ure- language,  and  that   language,  as  we 


equally  express  acceptance.  There  are  some 
ladies  who  are  addicted  to  the  feminine  vice  of 
tossing  their  heads  when  they  meet  with  any 
thing  which  does  not  happen  to  suit  them  at  the 
moment.  It  is  really  wonderful  to  see  how 
much  they  enjoy  it,  and  how  they  think  them- 
selves to  have  elevated  their  dignity  together 
with  their  noses  above  the  ordinary  level  of  hu- 
manity. Their  idea  is  a  ludicrously  false  one, 
but  they  certainly  express  it  by  their  gesture. 
Again,  words  can  not  express  contempt  more 


presently  see,  is  the  common  property  of  himself 
and  the  lower  animals. 

Even  among  ourselves  there  is  a  recognized 
language  of  signs,  namely,  that  by  which  we  can 
exchange  ideas  with  the  deaf  and  dumb.  It  has 
been  reduced  to  a  form  almost  as  definite  as  the 
written  or  spoken  language ;  and  it  is  worthy  of 
notice  that  very  many  of  the  signs  are  identical 
with  those  in  use  among  the  Indian  tribes.  Thus 
a  deaf-and-dumb  man  who  had  learned  the  sign- 
language  would  be  able  to  converse  with  the 


forcibly  than  the  action  of  snapping  the  fingers  i  Indian  tribes ;  while  a  man  who  was  in  posses- 
or  turning  the  back ;  nor  can  words  be  more  ex-  sion  of  his  powers  of  speech  and  hearing  could 
pressive  of  veneration  than  the  act  of  bending  !  neither  understand  them  nor  make  himself  in- 
the  knee.  Words  are  not  needed  to  express  de-  j  telligible  to  them  if  he  were  ignorant  of  this  sim- 
votion  when  the  clasped  hands  and  uplifted  eye  '  pie  code  of  signs.  I  have  seen  evidence  taken 
are  seen ;  while  remorse  is  shown  by  the  cower-  in  a  court  of  law  by  means  of  the  sign-language, 
ing  form  crouching  to  the  earth  as  if  crushed  by  j  and  such  evidence  was  accepted  as  if  it  had  been 
the  weight  of  guilt,  and  conscious  innocence  by  \  spoken  or  written, 
the  erect  body  and  uplifted  head. 

Not  to  multiply  further  examples  which  will 
strike  any  one  who  takes  the  trouble  to  think  on 
the  subject,  it  is  evident  that  ideas  can  be  con- 


Lastly,  there  is  the  language  of  the  eye,  by 
which  ideas  are  interchanged  without  the  neces- 
sity of  words  or  gestures.     It  is  essentially  the 
veyed  by  gestures  without  the  use  of  words,  and  !  language  of  idea,  and  by  it  spirit  speaks  directly 
that  any  mode  of  transmitting  ideas  is  a  form  of    to  spirit,  conveying  by  a  single  glance  of  the  eye 


language. 

The  gesture-language  is  that  which  is  chiefly 
used  by  the  lower  animals  when  they  wish  to 
convey  their  ideas  to  man,  and,  in  its  way,  it  is 
as  perfect  a  language  as  that  which  was  em- 
ployed by  the  child  above  mentioned,  who  did 


thoughts  which  whole  volumes  would  fail  to  ex- 
press. 

There  is  none  so  obtuse  that  he  can  not  un- 
derstand the  fiery  glare  of  anger,  the  soft,  beam- 
ing glance  of  love,  or  the  dull,  purposeless  stare 
of  hopeless  sorrow.  When  the  mother  contem- 


not  choose  to  take  the  trouble  of  speaking  when  !  plates  her  infant,her  entire  soul  is  poured  through 
he  could  make  himself  understood  by  gesture  ;  !  her  eyes,  and  no  language  is  adequate  to  express 
and,  whether  these  gestures  be  used  by  man,  j  the  boundless  love  which  is  manifested  by  the 
child,  or  beast,  they  are  intended  for  the  trans-  eye  alone. 

The  look  of  appeal  is  sufficiently  recognizable 


mission  of  ideas,  which  are  the  result  of  reason, 
and  not  of  instinct. 

Painters  would  be  in  a  very  bad  way  if  they 
were  not  aided  by  the  natural  language  of  gest- 
ure. They  can  not  paint  ideas,  but  they  can 
paint  the  gestures  which  are  expressive  of  ideas, 
and  so  can  make  themselves  as  well  understood 
as  if  they  had  made  use  of  the  written  language. 
Indeed,  the  same  model  does  duty  for  all  kinds 


to  be  expressed  by  the  painter's  art,  an  admi- 
rable and  familiar  example  of  which  is  seen  in  the 
two  faces  in  Millais's  "  Huguenots."  Solemn 
question  and  equally  solemn  response  can  be  giv- 
en in  a  moment,  and  without  the  use  of  word  or 
sign;  and  there  are  those  who  have  known  a 
single  glance  given  and  returned  change  the 
whole  course  of  two  lives. 


LANGUAGE— OF  ANIMALS. 


41 


If  animals  possess  reason  in  common  with 
man,  it  is  evident  that  they  must  be  able  to  in- 
terchange thoughts  with  each  other  and  with 
man,  when  brought  in  contact  "with  him.  They 
must  possess  a  language  of  some  sort,  by  means 
of  which  they  can  understand  each  other,  can 
comprehend  human  language,  and  render  them- 
selves intelligible  to  man.  All  these  conditions 
are  fulfilled  in  the  lower  animals,  and  the  infer- 
ence to  be  drawn  from  them  is  self-evident. 

There  is  one  distinction  between  the  capability 
of  understanding  their  own  language  and  that  of 
man,  namely,  that  they  are  born  with  the  one 
and  have  to  learn  the  other.  Newly  hatched 
chickens,  for  example,  understand  their  mother 
perfectly  well,  though  they  have  only  entered  the 
world  an  hour  or  so  ago ;  they  know  what  she 
means  when  she  calls  them  to  find  what  she  has 
scratched  up  for  them,  and  they  know  what  to 
do  when  she  gives  them  warning  of  danger. 
They,  again,  are  able  to  talk  to  their  mother, 
and  even  the  most  incurious  must  have  noticed 
how  different  are  their  tones  under  various  cir- 
cumstances—say, for  example,  the  little  piping 
notes  of  content  when  all  is  going  on  well,  and 
the  cry  of  alarm  when  they  have  lost  their  way 
or  are  otherwise  frightened. 

Looking  at  the  nervous  system  of  insects,  in 
whom  there  is  no  definite  brain,  but  merely  a 
succession  of  ganglia  united  by  a  double  nerv- 
ous cord,  many  physiologists  have  thought  that 
reason  could  not  be  one  of  the  attributes  of  the 
insect  race.  Yet  nothing  is  more  certain  than 
that  they  are  able  to  converse  with  each  other 
and  communicate  ideas,  this  fact  showing  that 
they  must  possess  reason.  As  far  as  we  know, 
the  hymenopterous  insects — namely,  the  bees, 
wasps,  and  ants — are  the  best  linguists  of  the  in- 
sect race,  their  language  being  chiefly  conducted 
by  means  of  their  antenna?.  A  good  example  of 
this  was  witnessed  by  me  in  the  summer  of  1 872. 

At  breakfast-time  some  pieces  of  the  white  of 
an  egg  were  left  on  a  plate.  A  wasp  came  in  at 
the  window,  and,  after  flying  about  for  a  while, 
alighted  on  the  plate,  went  to  the  piece  of  egg, 
and  tried  to  carry  it  off.  Wishing  to  see  what 
the  insect  would  do,  I  would  not  allow  it  to  be 
disturbed.  After  several  unavailing  attempts 
to  lift  the  piece  of  egg,  the  wasp  left  it  and 
flew  out  of  the  window.  Presently  two  wasps 
came  in,  flew  direct  to  the  plate,  picked  up  the 
piece  of  egg,  and  in  some  way  or  other  contrived 
to  get  it  out  of  the  window.  These  were  evi- 
dently the  first  wasp  and  a  companion  whom  it 
had  brought  to  help  it. 

I  had  a  kind  of  suspicion  that  when  the  wasps 


reached  their  home  they  would  tell  their  com- 
panions of  their  good  fortune,  and  so  I  put  some 
more  egg  on  the  plate  and  waited.  In  a  very 
short  time  wasp  after  wasp  came  in,  went  to  the 
plate  without  hesitation,  and  carried  off  a  piece 
of  egg.  The  stream  of  wasps  was  so  regular  that 
I  was  able  to  trace  them  to  their  nest,  which  was 
in  a  lane  about  half  a  mile  from  my  house. 

The.  insect  had  evidently  reasoned  with  itself 
that,  although  the  piece  of  egg  was  too  heavy  for 
one  wasp,  it  might  be  carried  by  two ;  so  it  went 
off  to  find  a  companion,  told  it  the  state  of 
things,  and  induced  it  to  help  it  in  carrying  off 
the  coveted  morsel.  Then  the  two  had  evident- 
ly told  the  other  inhabitants  of  the  nest  that 
there  was  a  supply  of  new  and  dainty  food  with- 
in reach,  and  had  acted  as  guides  to  the  locality. 
Here  is  positive  proof  that  these  insects  possess 
a  very  definite  language  of  their  own,  for  it  is 
impossible  that  human  beings  could  have  acted 
in  a  more  rational  manner. 

Every  one  knows  that  wasps  carry  out  one  of 
the  first  principles  of  the  military  art  by  always 
having  the  gate  of  their  fortress  guarded  by  a 
sentinel.  Should  there  be  danger,  the  sentinel 
gives  the  alarm,  and  out  dash  all  the  inhabitants 
at  the  offender  indicated  by  the  sentinel. 

It  is  clear  that,  out  of  the  many  hundred 
wasps  which  form  a  full-sized  nest,  the  individ- 
ual who  is  to  act  as  sentinel  must  be  selected, 
and  its  task  appointed.  We  do  not  know  how 
the  selection  is  made,  but  that  such  is  the  case 
is  evident ;  for  the  rest  of  the  wasps  acknowl- 
edge their  sentinel,  trust  to  it  for  guarding  the 
approaches  of  the  nest,  while  they  go  about  their 
usual  task  of  collecting  food  for  the  young  and 
new  material  for  the  nest. 

As  for  the  ants,  some  of  their  performances 
are  absolutely  startling,  so  closely  do  they  resem- 
ble the  customs  of  human  civilization. 

They  have  armies  commanded  by  officers,  who 
issue  their  orders,  insist  upon  obedience,  and  on 
the  march  will  not  permit  any  of  the  privates  to 
stray  from  the  ranks.  There  are  some  ants 
which  till  the  ground,  weed  it,  plant  the  partic- 
ular grain  on  which  they  feed,  cut  it  when  ripe, 
and  store  it  away  in  their  subterranean  granaries. 
There  are  ants  which  are  as  arrant  slaveholders 
as  any  people  on  earth  ever  were.  They  make 
systematic  raids  on  the  nests  of  other  ants,  carry 
off  the  yet  unhatched  cocoons,  and  rear  them 
in  their  own  nests  to  be  their  servants. 

There  are  ants  which  bury  their  dead — a  fact 
which  was  discovered  by  accident. 

A  lady  had  been  obliged  to  kill  some  ants,  the 
bodies  of  which  lay  about  on  the  ground.  Pres- 


42 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


ently  a  single  ant  found  its  dead  companions,  and 
examined  them  and  went  off.  Presently  it  re- 
turned with  a  number  of  others,  and  proceeded 
to  the  dead  bodies.  Four  ants  went  to  each 
corpse,  two  lifting  it  and  the  other  two  following 
— the  main  body,  some  two  hundred  in  number, 
following  behind.  The  four  bearers  took  their 
office  in  turns,  one  pair  relieving  the  other  when 
they  were  tired.  They  went  straight  to  a  sandy 
hillock,  and  there  the  bearers  put  down  their  bur- 
dens, and  the  others  immediately  began  to  dig 
holes.  A  dead  ant  was  then  placed  in  each  grave 
and  the  soil  filled  in.  The  most  curious  part  of 
the  proceedings  was  that  some  six  or  seven  ants 
refused  to  assist  in  grave-digging.  Upon  which  the 
rest  set  on  them,  killed  them,  dug  one  large  hole, 
and  tumbled  them  unceremoniously  into  it. 

In  Froebel's  work  on  South  America  there  is 
a  good  account  of  the  proceedings  of  some  ants  : 

"I  had  several  opportunities  of  observing  the 
manners  of  several  kinds  of  ants  living  in  the 
houses.  All  of  them  are  very  inoffensive  and 
even  useful  creatures.  On  one  occasion  I  wit- 
nessed a  remarkable  instance  of  the  concerted 
and  organized  action  of  a  crowd  of  them.  They 
were  of  a  minute  species,  but,  hy  the  wonderful 
order  and  speediness  with  which  they  worked  to- 
gether, and  which  it  would  have  been  difficult  to 
realize  with  men,  they  succeeded  in  performing 
a  task  apparently  quite  beyond  their  capability. 

"  They  carried  a  dead  scorpion,  of  full-grown 
size,  up  the  wall  of  our  room,  from  the  floor  to 
the  ceiling,  and  thence  along  the  under  surface 
of  a  beam  to  a  considerable  distance,  when  at 
last  they  brought  it  safely  into  their  nest  in  the 
interior  of  the  wood.  During  the  latter  part  of 
this  achievement  they  had  to  bear  the  whole 
weight  of  the  scorpion,  together  with  their  own, 
in  their  inverted  position,  and  in  this  way  to 
move  along  the  beam. 

"  The  order  was  so  perfect  that  not  the  slightest 
deviation  from  an  absolute  symmetry  and  equal- 
ity of  distances  and  arrangement  was  observable 
in  the  manner  of  taking  hold  of  the  body  of  the 
scorpion,  and  in  the  movement  of  the  little  army 
of  workmen.  No  corps  of  engineers  could  be 
drilled  to  a  more  absolute  perfection  in  the  per- 
formance of  a  mechanical  task.  According  to  a 
rough  calculation,  there  must  have  been  from  five 
to  six  hundred  of  these  intelligent  little  creatures 
at  work.  Besides  those  engaged  in  the  trans- 
port, none  were  seen.  A  single  one  was  sitting  on 
the  sting  at  the  end  of  the  scorpion's  tail,  as  if 
placed  there  to  overlook  and  direct  the  whole 
movements;  all  the  rest  were,  without  exception, 
at  work.  The  operation  may  have  lasted  about 
an  hour." 


This  scene  is  an  exact  reproduction,  in  the  in- 
sect world,  of  the  manner  in  which  the  ancient 
Egyptians  and  Assyrians  conveyed  their  colossal 
statues  to  their  places.  There  we  see  hundreds  of 
men  all  dragging  at  the  multitudinous  ropes  at- 
tached to  the  car  on  which  the  statue  lay,  and  all 
pulling  in  time  to  the  gestures  of  a  single  man 
placed  on  the  top  of  the  statue.  The  ants,  how- 
ever, had  a  still  more  difficult  task  than  the  men  ; 
for  they  possessed  no  carriage  on  which  to  lay  the 
scorpion,  and  were  obliged  to  sustain  the  whole 
of  its  weight  as  they  passed  over  the  ceiling. 

In  the  same  work,  Froebel  has  narrated  an- 
other example  of  the  manner  in  which  ants  can 
combine,  and  make  themselves  intelligible  to  their 
fellow-insects : 

"Another  time  I  witnessed  the  transmigration 
of  a  whole  state  or  commonwealth  of  ants,  from 
a  hole  in  the  wall,  across  our  veranda,  into  an- 
other hole  in  the  opposite  wall. 

"  Two  facts  struck  my  attention  in  this  case. 
The  first  was,  that  the  marching  army  of  these 
insects,  all  moving  in  one  direction,  consisted  of 
individuals  of  such  a  difference  in  size  and  shape, 
that  to  consider  them  as  belonging  to  one  species 
seemed  very  difficult,  and  the  idea  of  a  common- 
wealth of  different  insect  nationalities  was  strong- 
ly suggested. 

' '  The  second  was,  that  some  little  beetles,  of 
the  family  of  Coccinellid^  marched  along  with 
the  ants  from  one  hole  into  the  other ;  not  quite 
of  their  own  will,  for  I  observed  that  several  times 
one  of  them  tried  to  deviate  from  the  line,  but 
was  quickly  brought  back  to  the  ranks  by  some 
of  the  ants  placing  themselves  at  its  side.  The 
fact  of  little  beetles,  of  the  very  family  just  men- 
tioned, existing  in  the  nests  of  ants  is  well  known ; 
but  it  is  of  considerable  interest  to  see  the  fact 
repeated  in  distinct  climates,  with  different  spe- 
cies of  insects  of  both  tribes,  and  under  opposite 
circumstances." 

As  to  the  different  sizes  of  the  ants,  all  entomol- 
ogists know  that,  in  the  hotter  parts  of  the  world, 
the  males,  females,  soldiers,  and  workers  of  the 
same  species  will  vary  in  size  from  that  of  a  wasp 
to  that  of  a  common  garden  ant,  and  that  the 
shape  and  aspect  are  as  different  as  their  size. 
The  second  point  is  a  very  curious  one.  It  has 
long  been  known  that  many  beetles  live  in  ants' 
nests,  but  I  believe  that  this  is  the  only  record 
of  the  beetles  accompanying  the  ants  in  their 
migrations. 

We  will  now  proceed  to  some  of  the  higher 
animals. 

The  Scotch  shepherds,  who  are  brought  into 
constant  companionship  with  their  dogs,  fully  be- 


LANGUAGE— OF  ANIMALS. 


43 


lieve  that  the  animals  not  only  understand  the 
words  of  their  masters,  but  have  a  language  of 
their  own  in  which  they  can  communicate  ideas 
to  each  other.  So  certain  are  they  of  this  that 
a  shepherd  is  quite  as  fastidious  about  his  dog's 
companions  as  he  would  be  about  those  of  his 
own  children. 

It  will  be  readily  understood  that  in  the  great 
sheep  -  feeding  districts  of  Scotland  there  is  no 
doggish  crime  so  unpardonable  as  sheep-killing. 
As  long  as  a  dog  can  be  kept  from  strange  com- 
panions there  is  no  great  danger,  as  a  collie  is 
scarcely  able  to  master  the  active  and  powerful 
sheep  of  those  parts — sheep  which,  by  reason  of 
their  semi-wild  life,  are  able  to  defend  themselves 
against  foes  to  which  a  southern  fold-bred  sheep 
would  at  once  succumb.  But  evil  communications 
corrupt  the  manners  of  dogs  as  well  as  of  men,  and 
there  is  the  greatest  danger  of  several  collies  unit- 
ing in  their  attacks  upon  the  sheep. 

Some  time  ago  a  couple  of  shepherds  met  in  a 
market  place,  each,  as  a  matter  of  course,  accom- 
panied by  his  dog,  one  of  which  had  been  suspect- 
ed of  sheep- worrying.  After  the  manner  of  dogs, 
the  animals  accosted  each  other,  and  soon  as- 
sumed so  remarkable  a  demeanor  in  their  con- 
versation that  their  owners  consulted  together  on 
their  own  account,  and  agreed  to  set  a  watch 
upon  their  dogs.  On  that  very  evening  both 
dogs  started  from  their  homes  at  the  same  hour, 
joined  each  other,  and  set  off  after  the  sheep. 

Here  we  have  a  direct  example  that  dogs  have 
a  sufficiency  of  language  to  convey  ideas.  The 
old  offender  had  invited  the  young  and  innocent 
dog  to  go  with  him  sheep-worrying,  and  had  even 
managed  to  tell  him  the  time  when  he  was  to 
start  on  his  expedition.  I  have  not  been  able 
to  ascertain  whether  audible  sounds  were  em- 
ployed by  the  dogs,  but  I  believe  that  the  lan- 
guage, although  perfectly  understood  by  them- 
selves and  partly  so  by  their  masters,  was  entire- 
ly one  of  look  and  gesture. 

An  event  occurred  near  Leslie  which  corrob- 
orates the  story  just  told  respecting  dogs  and 
their  power  of  understanding  their  own  language. 

A  farmer  had  lost  a  considerable  number  of 
sheep,  and  so  he  and  his  shepherd  watched  care- 
fully throughout  the  night  for  the  purpose  of  de- 
tecting the  dog  which  had  worried  the  animals. 
About  the  middle  of  the  night  they  saw  a  troop 
of  seven  dogs  making  at  full  speed  for  the  field 
where  the  sheep  were  kept.  One  dog  was  evi- 
dently the  leader,  and  there  could  be  no  doubt 
that  the  animals,  which  belonged  to  different 
owners,  had  pre-arranged  their  meeting,  and  even 
settled  the  time  at  which  they  were  to  leave  their 
respective  homes.  This  could  only  have  been 


done  by  means  of  some  kind  of  language,  which, 
though  it  did  not  consist  of  words,  was  as  intelli- 
gible to  them  as  human  language  is  to  mankind. 

Two  very  remarkable  instances  of  language  and 
combination  are  given  by  Colonel  W.  Campbell 
in  his  "  Indian  Journal."  The  writer  is  perhaps 
better  known  by  his  nom  de  plume,  "  The  Old 
Forest  Ranger."  '  He  was  at  Eanee  Bennore  on 
a  hunting  expedition : 

"  I  witnessed  this  morning  a  curious  instance 
of  wolfish  generalship  that  interested  me  much, 
and  which,  in  my  humble  opinion,  goes  far  to 
prove  that  animals  are  endowed  to  a  certain  ex- 
tent with  reasoning  faculties,  and  have  means  of 
communicating  their  ideas  to  each  other. 

"  I  was  as  usual  scanning  the  horizon  with  my 
telescope  at  daybreak  to  see  if  any  game  was  in 
sight.  I  had  discovered  a  small  herd  of  antelopes 
feeding  in  a  field  from  which  the  crop  had  lately 
been  removed,  and  was  about  to  take  the  glass 
from  my  eye  for  the  purpose  of  reconnoitring 
the  ground,  when,  in  a  remote  quarter  of  the 
field,  concealed  from  the  antelopes  by  a  few  in- 
tervening bushes,  I  faintly  discerned  in  the  gray 
twilight  a  pack  of  six  wolves,  seated  on  their  hind 
quarters  like  dogs,  and  apparently  in  deep  con- 
sultation. 

"  It  appeared  evident  that,  like  myself,  they 
wanted  venison,  and  had  some  design  upon  the 
antelopes ;  and,  being  anxious  to  witness  the 
mode  of  proceeding  adopted  by  these  four-legged 
poachers,  I  determined  to  watch  their  motions' 
I  accordingly  dismounted,  leaving  my  horse  in 
charge  of  the  sowar,  and,  creeping  as  near  the 
scene  of  action  as  I  could,  without  being  discov- 
ered, concealed  myself  behind  a  bush. 

"  Having  apparently  decided  on  their  plan  of 
attack,  the  wolves  separated,  one  remaining  sta- 
tionary, and  the  other  five  creeping  cautiously 
around  the  edge  of  the  field,  like  setters  drawing 
in  a  shy  covey  of  birds.  In  this  manner  they 
surrounded  the  unsuspecting  herd,  one  wolf  lying 
down  at  each  corner  of  the  field,  and  the  fifth 
creeping  silently  toward  the  centre  of  it,  where 
he  concealed  himself  in  a  deep  furrow. 

"The  sixth  wolf,  which  had  not  yet  moved, 
now  started  from  his  hiding-place  and  made  a 
dash  at  the  antelopes.  The  graceful  creatures, 
confident  in  their  matchless  speed,  tossed  their 
heads  as  if  in  disdain,  and  started  off  in  a  series 
of  flying  bounds  that  soon  left  their  pursuer  far 
behind.  But  no  sooner  did  they  approach  the 
edge  of  the  field  than  one  of  the  crouching  wolves 
started  up,  turned  them,  and  chased  them  in  a 
contrary  direction,  while  his  panting  accomplice 
lay  down  in  his  place  to  secure  wind  for  a  fresh 


44 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


the  bounding  herd  dashed  across  j 
the  plain,  hoping  to  escape  on  the  opposite  side ;  j 
but  here  they  were  once  more  headed  off  by  one 
of  the  crafty  savages,  who  took  up  the  chase  in  ' 
his  turn,  and  coursed  them  till  relieved  by  a  fresh 
hand  from  an  opposite  quarter.     In  this  manner  ; 
the  persecuted  animals  were  driven  from  side  to  j 
side  and  from  corner  to  corner,  a  fresh  assailant  ' 
heading  them  at  every  turn,  till  they  appeared  j 
perfectly  stupefied  with  fear,  and,  crowding  to- 
gether like  frightened   sheep,  began   to  wheel 
around  in  diminishing  circles. 

"  All  this  time  the  wolf  which  lay  concealed 
in  the  furrow  near  the  centre  of  the  field  had  ] 
never  moved,  and  although  the  antelopes  had 
passed  and  repassed  within  a  few  feet  of  him, 
and  had,  perhaps,  even  jumped  over  him,  his 
time  for  action  had  not  yet  arrived.  It  now  be- 
came evident  that  the  unfortunate  antelopes  must 
soon  be  tired  out ;  when  it  appeared  probable 
that  the  surrounding  wolves  would  have  made  a 
combined  attack,  and  driven  the  terrified  herd 
toward  the  centre  of  the  field,  where  the  wolf 
which  had  hitherto  been  lying  in  reserve  would 
have  sprung  up  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  secured 
at  least  one  victim." 

At  this  period  of  the  proceeding  the  spectator 
shot  the  nearest  wolf,  whereupon  the  other  five 
decamped  and  allowed  the  antelopes  to  escape. 

Here  we  have  reason  and  a  power  of  combina- 
tion for  mutual  action  that  would  have  done 
credit  to  human  beings. 

The  anecdote  shows  also  that  there  is  much 
more  detail  in  the  language  of  animals  than  is 
generally  supposed.  Each  had  its  different  post 
assigned,  so  that  the  wolves  must  have  possessed 
some  means  of  indicating  that  locality  ;  and  each 
undertook  to  play  its  own  part  in  a  scheme  of  no 
small  intricacy,  so  that  their  language  must  have 
been  capable  of  expressing  abstract  ideas. 

Mr.  Walter  Elliot,  also  a  mighty  Indian  hunter, 
mentions  in  a  foot-note  to  Colonel  Campbell's  ac- 
count that  he  has  witnessed  similar  instances  of 
combination  on  the  part  ofthe  same  animal.  Once 
he  saw  three  gazelles  chased  by  a  single  wolf. 
They  made  for  a  "  nullah,  "or  ravine,  and  plunged 
into  it.  Presently  two  of  the  gazelles  bounded 
up  the  opposite  bank  of  the  nullah,  but  the  third 
gazelle  and  the  wolf  were  missing.  Going  to  the 
nullah  in  order  to  discover  what  had  become  of 
the  animals,  Mr.  Elliot  found  the  missing  gazelle 
in  the  jaws  of  three  wolves.  It  was  evident  that 
it  had  been  decoyed  into  an  ambush,  two  wolves 
having  hidden  themselves  in  the  nullah,  and  the 
third  driven  the  gazelles  to  the  spot  where  his 
accomplices  were  concealed,  thus  making  up  by 
cunning  for  lack  of  speed. 


I  rather  think  that  each  species  has  its  own 
dialect,  and  that  there  is  another  language  which 
is  common  to  all — a  sort  of  animal  Ungva franca, 
or  "pigeon-English."  For  example,  a  cry  of 
warning,  no  matter  from  what  bird  or  animal  it 
comes,  is  understood  by  them  all,  as  is  well  known 
to  many  a  sportsman  who  has  lost  his  only  chance 
of  a  shot  by  reason  of  an  impertinent  jay,  crow, 
or  magpie  which  has  spied  him,  and  has  given  its 
cry  of  alarm. 

In  Mansfield  Parkyn's  work  on  Abyssinia  is  a 
remarkable  account  of  language  and  the  conse- 
quent power  of  combination  among  the  monkey 
tribe : 

"  You  may  see  them  quarreling,  making  love, 
mothers  taking  care  of  their  children,  combing 
their  hair,  nursing  and  suckling  them  ;  and  the 
passions — jealousy,  anger,  love — as  fully  and  dis- 
tinctly marked  as  in  men.  They  have  a  language 
as  distinct  to  them  as  ours  is  ;  and  their  women 
are  as  noisy  and  fond  of  disputation  as  any  fish- 
fag  in  Billingsgate. 

"The  monkeys,  especially  the  Cynocephali, 
who  are  astonishingly  clever  fellows,  have  their 
chiefs,  whom  they  obey  implicitly,  and  a  regular 
system  of  tactics  in  war,  pillaging  expeditions, 
robbing  corn-fields,  etc. 

"  These  monkey  forays  are  managed  with  the 
utmost  regularity  and  precaution.  A  tribe,  com- 
ing down  to  feed  from  their  village  on  the  mount- 
ain (usually  a  cleft  in  the  face  of  some  cliff), 
brings  with  it  all  its  members,  male  and  female, 
old  and  young.  Some,  the  elders  of  the  tribe, 
distinguishable  by  the  quantity  of  mane  which 
covers  their  shoulders  like  a  lion's,  take  the  lead, 
passing  cautiously  over  each  precipice  before  they 
descend,  and  climbing  to  the  top  of  every  rock 
or  stone  which  may  afford  them  a  better  view  of 
the  road  before  them. 

"  Others  have  their  posts  as  scouts  on  the  flanks 
or  rear ;  and  all  fulfill  their  duties  with  the  ut- 
most vigilance,  calling  out  at  times,  apparently 
to  keep  order  among  the  motley  pack  which  forms 
the  main  body,  or  to  give  notice  of  the  approach 
of  any  real  or  imagined  danger.  Their  tones  of 
voice  on  those  occasions  are  so  distinctly  varied 
that  a  person  much  accustomed  to  watch  their 
movements  will  at  length  fancy — and,  perhaps, 
with  some  truth — that  he  can  understand  their 
signals. 

"  The  main  body  is  composed  of  females,  irir 
experienced  males,  and  young  people  ofthe  tribe. 
Those  of  the  females  who  have  small  children 
carry  them  on  their  back.  Unlike  the  dignified 
march  of  the  leaders,  the  rabble  go  along  in  a 
most  disorderly  manner,  trotting  on  and  chatter- 


LANGUAGE— OF  ANIMALS. 


ing,  without  taking  the  least  heed  of  any  thing, 
apparently  confiding  in  the  vigilance  of  their 
scouts. 

"Here  a  few  of  the  youths  linger  behind  to 
pick  the  berries  off  some  tree,  but  not  long,  for 
the  rear  guard  coming  up  forces  them  to  regain 
their  places.  There  a  matron  pauses  for  a  mo- 
ment to  suckle  her  offspring,  and,  not  to  lose 
time,  dresses  its  hair  while  it  is  taking  its  meal. 
Another  younger  lady,  probably  excited  by  jeal- 
ousy or  by  some  sneering  look  or  word,  pulls  an 
ugly  mouth  at  her  neighbor,  and  then,  uttering  a 
shrill  squeal  highly  expressive  of  rage,  vindictive- 
ly snatches  at  her  rival's  leg  or  tail  with  her  hand, 
and  gives  her,  perhaps,  a  bite  in  the  hind- quar- 
ters. This  provokes  a  retort,  and  a  most  unlady- 
like quarrel  ensues,  till  a  loud  bark  of  command 
from  one  of  the  chiefs  calls  them  to  order.  A 
single  cry  of  alarm  makes  them  all  halt  and  re- 
main on  the  qui  vive,  till  another  bark  in  a  dif- 
ferent tone  reassures  them,  and  they  then  pro- 
ceed on  their  march. 

"Arrived  at  the  corn-fields,  the  scouts  take 
their  positions  on  the  eminences  all  around,  while 
the  remainder  of  the  tribe  collect  provisions  with 
the  utmost  expedition,  filling  their  cheek-pouches 
as  full  as  they  can  hold,  and  then  tucking  the 
heads  of  corn  under  their  armpits.  Now,  unless 
there  be  a  partition  of  the  collected  spoil,  how  do 
the  scouts  feed  ?  I  have  watched  them  several 
times,  and  never  observed  them  to  quit  for  a  mo- 
ment their  post  of  duty,  until  it  was  time  for  the 
tribe  to  return,  or  till  some  indication  of  danger 
induced  them  to  take  to  flight. " 

Here  we  have  clear  proof  of  the  existence  of 
a  definite  language  among  beasts  —  a  language 
so  expressive  that  it  could  be  understood  by  a 
human  listener.  There  are  many  birds  which 
act  in  almost  exactly  the  same  manner,  a  few 
being  posted  as  sentinels,  while  the  rest  devour 
the  crops  in  peace,  knowing  that  warning  will 
be  given  if  danger  should  threaten  them. 

The  animal  above  mentioned  is  the  Dogfaced 
Baboon.  Colonel  Drayson,  R.^A.,  has  given  a 
similar  account  of  another  species,  the  Chacma, 
of  Southern  Africa. 

A  ludicrous  example  of  the  possession  of  lan- 
guage of  the  monkey  tribe  is  given  by  Sir  J.  Bow- 
ring  in  his  admirable  work  on  Siam.  During  a 
journey  one  of  his  suite  fired  at  a  monkey,  wish- 
ing to  secure  the  young  one  which  she  held  in 
her  arms.  He  did  not  kill  her,  and  the  wounded 
mother  retreated  into  the  jungle,  carrying  her 
child  with  her.  The  rest  must  be  told  in  Sir 
John's  own  words : 

"Five  men  immediately  followed  her  ;  but  ere 


they  had  been  out  of  sight 
them  hurrying  toward  us,  shouting  '  Ling,  ling, 
ling,  ling  /'  (t.  e. ,  monkey).  As  I  could  see  noth- 
ing, I  asked  Mr.  Hunter  if  they  were  after  the 
monkeys. 

' ' '  Oh,  no, '  he  replied ;  '  the  monkeys  are  after 
them.1 

"And  so  they  were,  thousands  upon  thousands 
of  them  coming  down  in  the  most  unpleasant 
manner.  As  the  tide  was  out,  there  was  a  great 
quantity  of  soft  mud  to  cross  before  they  could 
gain  the  boat.  Here  the  monkeys  gained  very 
rapidly  upon  the  men  ;  and  when  at  length  the 
boat  was  reached,  their  savage  pursuers  were  not 
twenty  yards  behind  them. 

"The  whole  scene  was  ludicrous  in  the  ex- 
treme, and  I  really  think  that,  if  my  life  had 
depended  upon  it,  I  could  not  have  fired  a  shot. 
To  see  the  men  making  the  most  strenuous  ex- 
ertions to  get  through  the  deep  mud,  breathless 
with  their  run  and  fright  combined,  and  the  army 
of  little  wretches  drawn  up  in  line  within  twenty 
yards  of  us,  screaming  and  making  use  of  the 
most  diabolical  language,  if  we  could  only  have 
understood  them.  Besides,  there  was  the  feel- 
ing that  they  had  the  right  side  of  the  question. 

"One  of  the  refugees,  however,  did  not  ap- 
pear to  take  my  view  of  the  case.  Smarting 
under  the  disgrace  and  the  bamboos  against 
which  he  ran  in  his  retreat,  he  seized  my  gun 
and  fired  both  barrels  on  the  exulting  foe,  who 
immediately  retired  in  great  disorder,  leaving 
four  dead  upon  the  field.  Many  were  the  quar- 
rels that  arose  from  this  affair  among  the  men." 

This  incident  shows  clearly  the  existence  of 
language  among  the  monkeys.  Otherwise  they 
could  not  have  unders-tood  that  one  of  their  num- 
ber had  been  injured  by  the  hands  of  certain  men, 
and  so  quickly  have  organized  a  combined  attack 
upon  their  foes. 

The  following  anecdotes  have  been  sent  to  me 
by  a  London  physician,  and  forcibly  illustrate  the 
faculty  possessed  by  animals  of  communicating 
ideas  to  each  other.  The  first  is  an  example  of 
dog  language. 

"While  I  was  living  in  the  country  with  a 
friend,  a  most  interesting  incident  was  observed 
in  the  history  of  the  dog. 

"My  friend  had  several  dogs,  two  of  which 
had  a  special  attachment  to,  and  an  understand- 
ing with,  each  other.  The  one  was  a  Scotch  ter- 
rier, gentle  and  ready  to  fraternize  with  all  hon- 
est comers.  The  other  was  as  large  as  a  mast  iff, 
and  looked  like  a  compound  between  the  mastiff 
and  the  large  rough  stag-hound.  He  was  fierce, 
and  required  some  acquaintance  before  you  knew 


46 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


what  faithfulness  and  kindness  lay  beneath  his 
rough  and  savage -looking  exterior.  The  one 
was  gay  and  lively,  the  other  stern  and  thought- 
ful. 

"These  two  dogs  were  often  observed  to  go  to 
a  certain  point  together,  when  the  small  one  re- 
mained behind  at  a  corner  of  a  large  field,  while 
the  mastiff  took  a  round  by  the  side  of  the  field, 
which  ran  up  hill  for  nearly  a  mile,  and  led  to  a 
wood  on  the  left.  Game  abounded  in  those  dis- 
tricts, and  the  object  of  the  dogs'  arrangement 
was  soon  seen.  The  terrier  would  start  a  hare, 
and  chase  it  up  the  hill  toward  the  large  wood  at 
the  summit,  where  they  arrived  somewhat  tired. 
At  this  point  the  large  dog,  which  was  fresh  and 
had  rested  after  his  walk,  darted  after  the  ani- 
mal, which  he  usually  captured.  They  then  ate 
the  hare  between  them,  and  returned  home.  This 
course  had  been  systematically  carried  on  for 
some  time  before  it  was  fully  understood." 

The  next  anecdote  shows  that  animals  belong- 
ing to  different  species,  such  as  the  dog  and  cat, 
can  communicate  ideas  to  each  other,  and  act  in 
concert. 

"A  relation  of  mine  in  Dumfriesshire  had  a 
dog  and  a  cat  which  were  attached  to  each  oth- 
er in  an  extraordinary  manner,  and  both  were 
great  favorites  in  the  household.  The  dog,  how- 
ever, was  not  intended  to  sleep  in  the  house, 
and  was  carefully  put  out  every  night ;  but, 
strange  to  say,  he  was  always  found  in  the 
morning  lying  before  the  fire,  with  the  cat  by 
his  side. 

"  One  evening  the  master  of  the  dog  heard  a 
sort  of  rap  at  a  back-door  leading  to  the  kitchen, 
and  saw  the  sagacious  cat  spring  up  and  strike 
the  latch,  while  the  dog  pushed  open  the  door 
and  entered  in  triumph.  This  system  must  have 
long  been  carried  on,  and  when  it  was  discover- 
ed, I  need  not  say  how  interested  were  the  mem- 
bers of  the  household  in  these  intelligent  and 
really  wonderful  creatures." 

Most  persons  have  heard  of  the  celebrated  rook 
parliaments,  though  very  few  have  seen  them.  I 
have  an  account  written  by  a  lady,  who  was  at 
the  time  in  bad  health,  and  was  reclining  among 
some  shawls  behind  a  window-curtain,  where  even 
the  sharp-eyed  rooks  did  not  detect  her. 

The  account  much  resembles  those  that  have 
already  been  given  by  other  writers,  but  intro- 
duces one  additional  circumstance.  The  rooks 
(called  crows  by  the  spectator)  assembled  in  a 
circle,  and  in  the  middle  was  one  bird  looking 
very  downcast  and  wretched.  Two  more  rooks 
took  their  places  at  its  side,  and  then  a  vast 


amount  of  chattering  went  on.  At  last  the  two 
birds,  which  seemed  to  act  as  accusers,  pecked  the 
central  bird  and  flew  off.  All  the  others  then 
set  on  the  condemned  bird,  pecked  it  nearly  to 
pieces,  and  went  away,  leaving  the  mangled  body 
on  the  ground. 

The  lady  who  witnessed  this  remarkable  scene 
was  much  struck  by  the  variety  of  tones  em- 
ployed by  the  birds,  and  their  great  expressive- 
ness. 

This  account  is  corroborated  by  Major  Norgate 
in  his  "Notes  on  the  Indian  Crow,"  published 
in  the  Zoologist,  p.  9650 : 

"The  crow  has  meetings  for  some  reason  or 
other ;  these  the  natives  call  Punchayeti — a  sort 
of  court. 

"I  have  several  times  seen  these  assemblies. 
Four  or  five  crows  will  alight  upon  an  open 
space,  generally  on  green  grass.  Two  or  three 
will  begin  cawing,  and  in  a  minute  or  two  some 
forty  or  fifty  of  them  will  come  flying  toward 
the  place  by  twos  and  threes  from  every  quarter. 
They  then  form  a  kind  of  ring  around  one  crow, 
which  appears  to  have  been  an  offender  against 
some  of  the  rules  of  their  society,  and  they  re- 
main still  for  some  minutes,  the  culprit  never  ap- 
pearing to  attempt  to  escape.  Then,  all  of  a 
sudden,  five  or  six  of  them  will  attack  the  pris- 
oner, pecking  him,  and  striking  him  with  their 
wings. 

"On  one  occasion  I  saw  the  crow  left  dead 
on  the  spot,  and  on  another  the  prisoner's  wing 
was  broken ;  but  these  courts,  or  whatever  they 
are,  suddenly  come  to  a  termination  by  the  too 
near  approach  of  a  man  or  a  dog.  I  saw  one 
meeting  which  lasted  twenty  minutes ;  but  no 
punishment  was  inflicted  on  any  of  them,  and  no 
noise  was  made.  The  whole  assembly  flew  off 
together :  they  were  not  disturbed  at  all,  and 
they  were  eating  nothing,  for  it  took  place  on  a 
bare  plain.  Of  course,  it  must  only  be  surmised 
•as  to  why  these  crows  are  punished  by  the  oth- 
ers ;  perhaps  some  close  observer  may  discover 
the  reason." 

Here  is  casually  noticed  a  rather  important 
fact,  namely,  that  .these  crow  parliaments  are 
sufficiently  common  in  India  to  have  received  a 
name  in  the  language  of  that  country,  and  that 
one  individual  saw  several  of  them.  I  mention 
this,  because  several  accounts  of  crow  parliaments 
seen  in  this  country  have  been  received  with  con- 
siderable incredulity.  The  reader  will  observe 
that  in  all  essential  points  the  two  narratives 
agree.  My  own  correspondent  is  of  opinion  that 
the  two  birds  which  guarded  the  culprit  were  the 
accusers,  and  that  it  was  their  duty  to  inflict  the 


LANGUAGE— OF  ANIMALS. 


47 


first  blow.  There  is  a  curious  parallel  here  with 
that  portion  of  the  Mosaic  law  which  ordained 
that  in  cases  of  capital  punishment  there  must  be 
at  least  two  witnesses,  and  that  they  must  cast 
the  first  stone  at  the  convicted  criminal. 

An  account  of  a  similar  act  of  justice  is  related 
by  Mr.  J.  Drew,  in  Hardwicke's  Science  Gossij> 
for  October,  1871.  The  event  occurred  at  Nan- 
sladron,  in  Cornwall. 

"One  summer  afternoon  my  attention  was 
drawn  to  a  vast  assemblage  of  rooks  on  our 
lawn.  By  the  terrible  vociferations  they  were 
making,  it  was  evident  that  something  very  unu- 
sual was  being  enacted ;  for,  clamorous  as  these 
birds  are  by  nature,  the  noise  and  excitement  of 
this  meeting  it  would  be  almost  impossible  to  de- 
scribe. 

"After  watching  them  for  some  time,  it  be- 
came clear  that  they  were  in  the  act  of  carrying 
out  some  preconcerted  punishment  upon  a  luck- 
less offender  of  their  own  flock  ;  for  on  the  ground 
was  a  black  object  in  the  form  of  a  rook,  which 
was  evidently  being  pecked  at,  rolled  over  and 
over,  and  so  passed  on  from  rank  to  rank  of  the 
assembled  multitude.  That  it  was  not  a  mere 
pastime  was  evident  from  the  ruthless  way  in 
which  feathers  were  pulled  out  and  continuous 
blows  given. 

"  Having  waited  about  ten  minutes,  we  felt  a 
curiosity  to  know  the  effect  of  such  chattering 
ferocity  upon  the  poor  black  object,  and  drew 
near  to  pick  it  up.  Of  course  the  rooks  flew 
away  with  loud  cawings  as  soon  as  we  approach- 
ed ;  but,  to  our  great  astonishment,  the  prostrate 
bird  opened  its  eyes,  spread  its  ragged  wings, 
and  made,  as  it  best  could,  for  the  nearest  tree. 
Whether,  if  we  had  not  interfered,  the  punish- 
ment would  have  been  carried  out  usque  ad  mor- 
tem I  know  not.  But  clearly  it  was  a  good  case 
to  prove  that  the  lower  animals  are  governed  by 
the  same  principles  of  thought  and  action  as  we 
are,  each  grade  varying  only  in  its  mental  and 
moral  qualities  in  proportion  to  the  development 
of  the  nervous  system." 

Here,  as  it  will  be  noticed,  the  observer  saw 
the  infliction  of  the  punishment,  but  not  the  trial 
which  had  evidently  preceded  it.  Still  he  saw 
enough  to  show  that  the  birds  must  have  possessed 
the  power  of  reasoning,  and  a  language  sufficient- 
ly definite  to  enable  them  to  unite  in  a  common 
object. 

Other  birds  besides  crows  and  rooks  can  as- 
semble, hold  council,  and  agree  to  act  on  the  re- 
sult of  their  deliberations. 

One  of  my  friends,  then  living  near  Manches- 


ter, in  the  garden  had  a  very  fine  mountain-ash 
tree,  which  always  produced  a  plentiful  crop  of 
berries.  Shortly  before' the  fruit  ripened  a  great 
number  of  thrushes  got  together  at  the  end  of 
the  garden,  and  were  very  noisy,  chattering,  and 
evidently  discussing  some  subject  on  which  they 
were  not  agreed.  This  went  on  for  some  time, 
the  assemblage  and  chattering  continuing  daily. 
All  this  time  the  berries  were  ripening ;  and  one 
morning  an  order  appeared  to  be  issued  ;  the 
birds  flew  to  the  tree,  and  in  a  couple  of  hours 
there  was  not  a  berry  left  upon  it.  This  oc- 
curred  regularly  during  the  three  years  in  which 
my  friend  occupied  the  house. 

Last  year  a  somewhat  similar  event  took  place 
in  the  garden  of  one  of  my  neighbors,  who  is  a 
great  horticulturist,  and  very  successful  with  fruit 
as  well  as  with  flowers.  There  was  a  cherry-tree 
bearing  in  that  year  a  remarkably  heavy  crop  of 
fruit,  which  was  carefully  watched  until  it  ripen- 
ed. One  evening  the  owner  of  the  garden,  see- 
ing that  the  cherries  had  just  reached  the  proper 
stage  for  picking,  ordered  the  gardener  to  gather 
them  on  the  following  morning.  But  the  birds 
seemed  to  know  as  much  about  fruit  as  he  did, 
for  when  the  gardener  came  with  his  basket  the 
crop  of  cherries  had  vanished,  and  nothing  was 
left  except  the  stalks,  each  with  the  stone  still 
attached  to  it. 

It  was  evident  that  in  this  case  the  birds  must 
have  entered  into  some  agreement  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  must  have  arranged  among  themselves 
not  to  meddle  with  the  tree  until  the  fruit  was 
quite  ripe.  The  disappointed  owner  of  the  cher- 
ry-tree stoutly  avers  that  the  birds  overheard  him 
give  the  order  to  the  gardener,  and  so  anticipated 
him  ;  but  the  former  anecdote,  showing  the  pow- 
er of  mutual  arrangement  among  birds,  explains 
the  latter. 

An  example  of  a  somewhat  similar  mode  of 
action  was  related  by  Mr.  G.  B.  Clarke,  of  Wo- 
burn,  to  the  Rev.  F.  O.  Morris,  and  by  him  pub- 
lished in  the  Naturalist:. 

"In  the  summer  of  1849  a  pair  of  martins 
built  their  nest  in  an  archway  at  the  stables  of 
Woburn  Abbey,  Bedfordshire :  and  as  soon  as 
they  had  completed  building  it,  and  had  lined  it, 
a  sparrow  took  possession  of  it,  and  although  the 
martins  tried  several  times  to  eject  him,  they  were 
unsuccessful.  But  they,  nothing  daunted,  flew 
off  to  scour  the  neighborhood  for  help,  and  re- 
turned in  a  short  space  of  time  with  thirty  or  for- 
ty martins,  who  dragged  the  unfortunate  culprit 
out,  took  him  to  the  grass-plot  opposite,  called 
'The  Circle,'  and  there  fell  on  him  and  killed 
him." 


48 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


This  story  was  told  by  Mr.  Clarke  to  Mr.  Mor- 
ris a  few  days  after  its  occurrence.  It  is  useful 
in  this  place  as  showing  that  birds  are  able  to 
communicate  their  thoughts  to  each  other  by 
means  of  a  language.  Supposing  that  we  had 
heard  the  aggrieved  martins  talking  to  their 
friends,  we  should  have  distinguished  nothing  but 
a  meaningless  twitter.  But,  even  with  human 
beings,  especially  those  who  are  uneducated,  the 
sound  of  a  strange  language  is  scarcely  more  in- 
telligible than  the  twittering  of  birds  or  the  bleat- 
ing of  sheep  ;  and,  indeed,  the  well-known  term 
of  Barbarian — i.  e.,  those  whose  language  is  noth- 
ing but  "bar-bar" — shows  how  the  sound  of  an 
unknown  language  affected  even  the  well-edu- 
cated and  cultivated  Athenians. 

It  is  not  likely  that  in  the  language  of  animals 
there  are  any  principles  of  construction  such  as 
are  possessed  by  all  human  languages.  But  the 
same  effect  may  be  produced  by  different  means, 
and  the  reader  will  see  that  in  this  instance  no 
human  language,  however  perfect  its  construction, 
could  have  served  its  purpose  better  than  did 
the  inarticulate  language  of  the  birds.  They  told 
their  friends  that  their  dwelling  was  usurped  by 
an  intruder  too  strong  to  be  ejected  by  them ; 
they  asked  for  united  assistance,  and  arranged 
the  course  to  be  pursued.  Had  not  this  been 
done,  it  is  evident  that  the  birds  could  not  have 
acted  so  perfectly  in  concert. 

In  fact,  wherever  animals  of  any  kind  form  al- 
liances and  act  simultaneously  for  one  common 
object,  it  is  evident  that  language  of  some  sort 
must  be  employed. 

Here  is  a  case  where  one  dog  saw  another  in 
difficulty,  and  went  to  give  it  advice.  Finding 
that  its  advice  was  not  taken,  it  went  again,  and 
forced  the  reluctant  animal  into  action. 

The  dog,  a  little  black-and-tan  terrier  named 
"Beau,"  and  his  owner  were  at  Penmaenmawr, 
on  the  coast  of  North  Wales.  They  were  one 
day  on  the  sands,  and  were  overtaken  by  the 
tide,  which  cut  them  off  from  the  shore  by  a  belt 
of  water.  A  bathing-machine  came  up  and  took 
off  the  dog's  owner,  Beau  refusing  to  enter  the 
machine,  of  which  he  seemed  to  be  suspicious. 
The  rest  must  be  told  in  the  writer's  own  words, 
taken  from  the  account  in  Old  and  New,  for  De- 
cember, 1873 : 

"When  I  found  myself  on  the  beach,  I  look- 
ed for  my  dog,  thinking  that  he  would  probably 
come  swimming  after  the  machine.  But  no; 
the  little  idiot  was  still  on  the  island,  yelping  and 
barking  in  great  distress.  I  called  to  him  for  a 
long  time,  bidding  him  swirn  across,  as  I  knew 
that  he  could  use  his  limbs  almost  as  well  in  wa- 


ter as  on  land.  But  the  naughty  animal  would 
.not  come,  and  meanwhile  the  sea  was  gaining  on 
the  sand,  and  Beau  had  scarcely  space  to  stand 
and  whine. 

"Playing  near  me  on  the  beach  was  a  large, 
rough-haired,  brave  dog — a  sort  of  half-bred  re- 
triever, I  should  suppose.  He  perceived  the  fix 
we  were  in,  and  suddenly  dashed  through  the  wa- 
ter and  went  up  to  Beau,  and  said  something  to 
him.  I  don't  know  what  he  said  ;  but  I  have  no 
doubt  that  he  counseled  Beau  to  swim  across  to 
his  mistress.  Alas !  the  kind,  brave  dog  return- 
ed to  dry  land,  but  no  Beau.  By  this  time  the 
sea  had  risen  round  my  little  terrier,  and  he  was 
himself  like  a  tiny  black-and-tan  island. 

"Now  what  did  the  brave  dog  do?  For  the 
second  time  he  dashed  through  the  water  and 
stood  beside  the  shivering,  yelping  creature ;  then 
he  went  behind  Beau,  and  very  gently  but  firmly 
pushed,  pushed,  pushed  him  through  the  water 
toward  the  place  where  I  was  standing.  As 
soon  as  they  were  both  fairly  in  the  deep  sea, 
and  it  seemed  to  be  a  case  of  sink  or  swim  with 
Master  Beau,  the  wise,  brave  dog  let  him  go,  and 
with  a  few  vigorous  strokes  brought  himself  to 
shore.  Beau,  having  received  such  an  impetus, 
very  soon  presented  himself  dripping  and  breath- 
less at  my  feet,  amid  the  applause  of  the  assem- 
bled multitude.  The  brown  dog,  like  a  true  hero, 
made  no  fuss  about  what  he  had  done,  and  I  had 
nothing  to  give  him  but  a  pat  on  the  head.  His 
master  was  certainly  not  on  the  beach  at  the 
time,  and  I  do  not  think  I  ever  saw  the  dog 
again." 

In  the  well-known  Science  Gossip  there  is  a 
very  interesting  paper  by  Mr.  E.  F.  Elwin  on  the 
habits  of  an  ant  called  Myrmica  ruginodis.  As 
is  their  manner,  two  of  them  had  been  fighting, 
and  one  had  succeeded  in  catching  his  opponent 
by  one  of  the  antennae.  Ants  always  try  to  do 
this,  as,  if  they  succeed,  the  adversary  succumbs 
at  once.  In  fact,  with  regard  to  ant  combatants, 
the  result  of  seizing  the  antennas  is  precisely  that 
which  is  known  among  pugilists  as  "getting  the 
head  into  Chancery, "namely,  rendering  the  op- 
ponent helpless. 

Another  ant,  coming  up,  seized  the  victim  by 
a  leg,  and  tried  to  pull  it  away,  but  in  vain,  and 
though  a  crowd  assembled  round  the  combatants, 
they  could  not  put  an  end  to  the  fight.  At  last 
a  single  ant  ran  up  and  stroked  with  his  antennas 
the  victor,  who  at  once  released  the  prisoner,  and 
both  the  combatants  and  the  spectators  went  qui- 
etly away. 

This  is  another  example  of  an  animal  assisting 
its  fellow-creature,  and  doing  so  by  means  of  its 


LANGUAGE— OF  ANIMALS. 


49 


own  language,  when  force  had  proved  unavail- 
ing. 

The  following  remarkable  instance  of  the  com- 
munication of  ideas  among  the  lower  animals  is 
narrated  by  the  liev.  C.  Otway : 

"At  the  flour -mills  of  Tubberakeena,  near 
Clonmel,  while  in  the  possession  of  the  late  Mr. 
Newbold,  there  was  a  goose,  which  by  some  ac- 
cident was  left  solitary,  without  mate  or  off- 
spring, gander  or  goslings.  Now  it  happened, 
as  is  common,  that  the  miller's  wife  had  set  a 
number  of  duck  eggs  under  a  hen,  which  in  due 
time  were  incubated ;  and,  of  course,  the  duck- 
lings, as  soon  as  they  came  forth,  ran  with  natu- 
ral instinct  to  the  water,  and  the  hen  was  in  a 
sad  pucker — her  maternity  urging  her  to  follow 
the  brood,  and  her  instinct  disposing  her  to  keep 
on  dry  land. 

"In  the  mean  while  up  sailed  the  goose,  and 
with  a  noisy  gabble,  which  certainly  (being  inter- 
preted) meant,  'Leave  them  to  my  care,'  she 
swam  up  and  down  with  the  ducklings,  and  when 
they  were  tired  with  their  aquatic  excursion  she 
consigned  them  to  the  care  of  the  hen. 

"The  next  morning,  down  came  again  the 
ducklings  to  the  pond,  and  there  was  the  goose 
waiting  for  them,  and  there  stood  the  hen  in  her 
great  flusteration.  On  this  occasion  we  are  not  at 
all  sure  that  the  goose  invited  the  hen,  observing 
her  maternal  trouble ;  but  it  is  a  fact  that  she  be- 
ing near  the  shore,  the  hen  jumped  on  her  back, 
and  there  sat,  the  ducklings  swimming,  and  the 
goose  and  hen  after  them,  up  and  down  the  pond. 

"This  was  not  a  solitary  event ;  day  after  day 
the  hen  was  seen  on  board  the  goose,  attending 
the  ducklings  up  and  down,  in  perfect  contented- 
ness  and  good-humor — numbers  of  people  coming 
to  witness  the  circumstance,  which  continued  un- 
til the  ducklings,  coming  to  days  of  discretion,  re- 
quired no  longer  the  joint  guardianship  of  the 
goose  and  the  hen." 

D 


On  the  evening  of  January  15,  1874,  I  re- 
ceived a  remarkable  corroboration  of  the  truth 
of  this  story.  I  was  narrating  it  to  a  lady,  who 
I  found  was  perfectly  acquainted  with  the  facts. 
She  had  heard  the  story  told  by  a  friend  of  hers, 
who  had  witnessed  the  curious  alliance  between 
the  hen  and  the  goose,  and  had  not  the  least  idea 
that  it  had  ever  appeared  in  print. 

There  are  one  or  two  points  about  this  narra- 
tive which  are  deserving  of  notice.  That  language 
was  employed  by  the  goose,  the  hen,  and  the 
ducklings,  is  evident  enough  ;  but  it  is  a  curious 
question  whether  the  ducklings  understood  the 
hen  better  than  the  goose,  or  vice  versa.  I  am 
rather  inclined  to  think  that  when  a  hen  tries  to 
call  from  the  water  the  ducklings  which  she  has 
hatched,  she  fails  because  she  does  not  know  how 
to  express  herself.  Her  own  chickens  would  nev- 
er venture  into  the  water,  and  she  has  no  words 
in  her  vocabulary  to  suit  the  occasion. 

Ducklings  understand  a  duck  well  enough  ; 
but  when  they  are  in  the  water  they  do  not  pay 
the  least  attention  to  the  hen  on  the  land,  though 
she  may  flutter  about  in  the  greatest  distress,  and 
use  every  means  in  her  power  to  call  her  foster- 
children  to  the  shore.  It  seems,  in  this  case,  as 
if  the  aquatic  goose  could  talk  to  the  aquatic 
ducklings,  both  having  the  same  expressions  in 
their  vocabularies.  It  could  take  charge  of  them 
as  long  as  it  thought  proper,  and,  when  the  time 
came,  order  them  ashore,  and  deliver  them  over 
to  the  hen.  They  did  not  obey,  or  did  not  un- 
derstand the  hen.  when  she  called  them  to  come 
on  shore ;  but  they  both  understood  and  obeyed 
the  goose. 

That  there  was  also  a  language  common  to 
both  parties  is  evident  from  the  action  adopted 
by  the  hen.  She  could  not  have  sat  on  the  back 
of  the  goose  unless  invited  by  the  latter,  which, 
as  we  shall  see  in  the  course  of  the  work,  is  a 
bird  possessed  of  great  intellectual  powers. 


50 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
LANGUAGE— [HUMAN]. 

Necessity  for  Communication  of  Ideas  between  Man  and  the  Lower  Animals.— The  Latter  able  to  Make 
Themselves  Intelligible  to  Man.— The  Gander  and  the  Goslings.— The  Skye  Terrier  and  the  Distressed 
Kitten.— Gesture-Language  of  Cats.— Language  of  Intonation  in  Man  and  Animals.— Gesture-Language 
Employed  by  Animals  as  well  as  Man. — Gesture-Language  of  the  Rat. — Capability  of  the  Animals  to  Un- 
derstand Human  Language,  even  when  not  addressed  to  them.— The  Dray-horse  and  their  Drivers.— 
"Turk,"  the  French  Dog.— A  Parrot  Speaking  Two  Languages.— Various  Parrot  Stories.— The  Mastiff 
Overhearing  the  Midnight  Conspiracy.— The  Retriever  Understanding  his  Master  and  Anticipating  Him. 
— "Rory"  and  "Banquo"  Obeying  various  Orders.— How  to  Teach  Animals.— " Ned "  and  the  Rabbit. 
"Carina's"  Pitiful  End. — A  Canine  Umpire  between  a  Farmer  and  his  Shepherd. — A  Canine  Connois- 
seur in  Wools "Sweep"  and  the  Cows.— Baldie  Tait's  Collie  Dog  "Hastie"  and  his  Dog  "Susy."— 

How  the  Collie  Dog  "  Watch  "  Understood  his  Master  and  Helped  Him  out  of  a  S(  ripe.— "  Ben  "  Evading 

an  Overheard  Order  of  his  Master. — "Help"  Overhearing  and  Evading  an  Order  for  his  Execution. 

Another  Dog  Acting  in  a  precisely  Similar  Manner. — Dodge  and  Counter-dodge. — "  Bijou,"  the  Spitz  Dog, 
Accepting  a  Reproof  and  Altering  his  Behavior.— The  Hon.  Grantley  Berkeley's  Dogs,  and  their  Com- 
prehension of  Human  Language.— "Missy"  Understands  the  Doctor's  Order,  and  Acts  upon  it.— The 
Cat  "Rosy"  Sent  upon  a  Message  to  a  Lady,  and  Delivering  it  Intelligibly. 


THE  next  branch  of  the  subject  extends  to  man 
as  well  as  beast.  "We  have  seen  that  the  beasts 
possess  a  language  by  which  they  can  communi- 
cate ideas  to  each  other,  and  that  they  can  act 
upon  the  ideas  so  conveyed.  We  have  now  to 
see  whether  they  can  convey  their  ideas  to  man, 
and  so  bridge  over  the  gulf  between  the  higher 
and  the  lower  beings.  Indeed,  if  there  were  no 
means  of  communicating  ideas  between  man  and 
animals,  domestication  would  be  impossible. 

Every  one  who  has  possessed  and  cared  for 
pet  animals  must  have  observed  that  they  can  do 
so.  In  many  cases  even  their  own  language  be- 
comes intelligible  to  man.  Just  as  a  child  that 
can  not  pronounce  words  expresses  its  meaning 
by  intonation,  so  there  is  all  the  difference  in  the 
world  between  the  different  modes  of  barking  of 
the  same  dog.  There  is  the  bark  of  joy  or  wel- 
come, when  the  animal  sees  its  master,  or  antic- 
ipates a  walk  with  him.  Then  there  is  the  furi- 
ous bark  of  anger,  if  the  dog  thinks  that  any  one 
is  likely  to  injure  himself  or  his  roaster.  And 
there  is  the  bark  of  terror,  when  the  dog  is  sud- 
denly frightened  at  something  which  it  can  not 
understand.  Supposing  that  its  master  could 
not  see  the  dog,  but  only  heard  it  bark,  he  would 
know  perfectly  well  the  ideas  which  were  passing 
through  the  animal's  mind. 

Take  the  cat.  Every  one  who  has  kept  cats 
knows  the  difference  between  the  mew  of  distress 
and  that  of  ordinary  conversation,  the  purr  of 


pleasure — the  little  gratified  chuckle  of  content 
when  touched  by  friendly  hands,  and  the  low, 
loving  tones  in  which  a  mother-cat  talks  to  her 
kittens.  It  is  the  same  with  birds.  A  pet  ca- 
nary, for  example,  always  knows  how  to  call  its 
master,  and  when  it  sees  him  will  give  a  glad  chir- 
rup of  recognition  quite  distinct  from  its  ordi- 
nary call. 

The  bees  and  wasps  have  quite  a  different 
sound  in  their  wings  when  they  are  angry  to 
that  which  they  emit  when  only  at  their  ordinary 
work.  It  is  a  distinct  menace  or  challenge  to  a 
supposed  enemy,  and  any  one  who  is  conversant 
with  the  ways  of  these  insects  understands  it, 
and  makes  the  best  of  his  way  off. 

These  are  examples  of  sound-language,  while 
the  gesture -language  is  wonderfully  extensive 
and  expressive.  If  a  cat  were  to  say  in  so 
many  words,  "Please  open  the  door  for  me,"  it 
could  not  convey  its  ideas  more  intelligently  than 
it  does  by  going  to  the  door,  giving  a  plaintive 
mew  to  show  that  it  wants  help,  and  then  pat- 
ting the  door.  The  dog,  or,  indeed,  any  animal 
accustomed  to  live  in  the  house,  will  act  after  a 
similar  fashion. 

Here,  then,  we  see  that  the  lower  animals  can 
form  connected  ideas,  and  can  convey  them  to 
man,  so  that  the  same  ideas  are  passing  at  the 
same  instant  through  the  minds  of  man  and 
beast,  showing  that  they  possess  the  same  fac- 
ulties, though  of  different  extent. 


LANG  UAGE— HUMAN. 


51 


The  following  anecdote  of  a  rat  shows  how 
expressive  and  intelligible  is  the  language  of 
gesture :  A  gentleman  living  in  Kent  had  a 
fancy  for  taming  animals,  and  among  others  had 
some  rats,  which  were  on  the  most  friendly 
terms,  and  used  to  run  about  him  as  he  sat  in 
his  room.  One  of  his  rats  had  a  litter  of  young, 
and,  in  order  to  insure  their  safety,  they  were 
placed  in  a  bird-cage  and  hung  on  a  wall. 

One  night,  after  their  master  was  asleep,  he 
was  awakened  by  something  patting  his  cheek, 
and  found  it  was  one  of  his  tame  rats.  He  tried 
to  sleep  again,  but  the  animal  would  not  allow 
it,  and  was  evidently  disturbed  about  something. 
As  soon  as  he  obtained  a  light,  the  rat  went  to 
the  door,  and  looked  at  him  as  if  it  expected  him 
to  follow.  Pie  did  so,  and  it  led  him  down  the 
stairs  into  his  room,  and  took  him  to  the  spot 
where  one  of  the  young  was  lying,  having  fallen 
from  its  cage. 

Suppose  that  we  substitute  for  the  rat  a  deaf- 
and-dumb  man  or  woman,  the  action  would  have 
been  almost  exactly  the  same,  as  would  have 
been  the  ideas  that  were  so  lucidly  conveyed  by 
the  language  of  gesture.  The  animal  found  that 
it  was  unable  to  put  back  its  fallen  young  one, 
and  must  have  calculated  that  its  master  was  taller 
and  stronger  than  itself,  and  able  to  replace  the 
young  rat.  So  it  went  in  search  of  its  master, 
traced  him  to  his  bedroom,  which  it  must  have 
done  by  the  sense  of  smell,  awoke  him  from  his 
sleep,  and  showed  him  where  his  assistance  was 
needed. 

An  anecdote  of  a  somewhat  similar  charac- 
ter will  be  related  under  another  heading,  the 
actor  being  a  dog  instead  of  a  rat.  Indeed, 
most  of  these  anecdotes  illustrate  several  charac- 
teristics common  to  man  and  beast.  I  might 
have  placed  this  present  anecdote  under  the 
heading  of  Parental  Love  or  Reasoning ;  but  as 
it  shows  that,  by  means  of  their  own  language, 
beasts  can  convey  their  thoughts  to  man,  I  have 
placed  it  in  its  present  position. 

How  completely  animals  can  make  themselves 
understood  by  man,  especially  when  they  wish  to 
help  each  other  by  the  aid  of  man,  will  be  seen 
in  many  of  the  anecdotes  narrated  in  this  work. 
Here  is  a  case  where  a  gander  managed  to  con- 
vey ideas  to  human  beings : 

"I  was  once  sitting  at  my  window  reading, 
when  a  gander  came  up  and  stood  at  the  window, 
uttering  the  most  discordant  screams,  and  mak- 
ing the  strangest  gestures  with  his  head.  I  was 
aware  that  he  was  a  knowing  bird,  but  was  not 
prepared  for  the  sequel. 

"As  soon  as  my  wife  and  I  came  out  he 


waddled  away  round  the  stables  and  out-houses 
until  he  came  to  the  mill-wheel.  Then  he 
stopped,  went  forward  a  few  paces,  and  kept  look- 
ing round  at  us.  We  could  see  nothing  wrong ; 
but  in  a  short  time  we  heard  the  plaintive  voice 
of  some  young  goslings  which  had  fallen  through 
the  mill-lade,  which  had  been  left  open. 

"  There  was  no  possibility  of  rescue  except  hy 
putting  on  sufficient  water  to  wash  them  through 
the  conduit.  I  did  so,  ran  to  the.  end,  caught 
them  as  they  were  washed  out,  and  restored 
them  to  their  delighted  parent.  The  gander 
seemed  overjoyed,  as  could  be  seen  by  his  action 
as  he  strutted  off  to  a  place  of  safety,  conscious 
that  he  had  done  great  things.  So  he  had." 

•  As  an  example  of  gesture-language,  nothing 
could  be  more  clear  and  intelligible  than  the 
method  employed  by  a  Skye  terrier  belonging  to 
one  of  my  correspondents. 

He  had  formed  a  friendship  with  a  kitten,  and 
the  two  were  one  day  in  the  garden.  Presently 
the  kitten  wished  to  go  into  the  house,  and  find- 
ing the  door  shut,  tried  to  call  the  attention  of 
the  servants  by  mewing  under  the  window.  She 
could  not  succeed  in  making  them  hear,  where- 
upon her  friend,  the  Skye  terrier,  picked  her  up 
gently  in  his  mouth,  held  her  in  front  of  the  win- 
dow and  shook  her  backward  and  forward  so  as 
to  be  seen  by  the  servants.  They  understood 
what  the  animal  meant,  let  the  kitten  into  the 
house,  and  ever  afterward  the  dog  employed  the 
same  expedient.  It  is  exactly  that  which  would 
have  occurred  to  a  human  being  under  similar 
circumstances. 

On  account  of  the  exigencies  of  space,  I  am 
obliged  to  omit  many  anecdotes  which  show  the 
power  of  gesture-language  in  the  lower  animals. 
I  must,  however,  mention  one  or  two  more.  I 
have  at  the  present  time  a  cat  which  is  not  as 
companionable  as  I  like  to  see  a  cat,  heing  rather 
of  a  retiring  and  self-seeking  disposition. 

Nevertheless,  she  is  quite  aware  of  the  fact 
that  I  can  understand  her  language,  and  always 
comes  to  me  in  any  difficulty.  She  is  rather 
given  to  straying,  I  fear,  in  some  poaching  raids 
upon  a  neighboring  rabbit-warren,  and  conse- 
quently finds  herself  locked  out  of  the  house. 
When  this  is  the  case,  she  jumps  on  the  sill  of 
the  window,  raises  herself  on  her  hind  legs,  so  as 
to  peer  above  the  dead-glass  blind,  looks  at  me, 
and  sets  up  a  most  piteous  mew,  or  rather  howl. 
No  sooner  do  I  rise  than  she  jumps  down,  and 
before  I  can  reach  the  door  she  is  already  there, 
purring  and  rubbing  herself  against  it  in  anxious 
expectation. 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


She  comes  iu  very  slowly,  gives  a  passing  greet- 
ing, and  then  goes  off  to  the  kitchen,  where  she 
lias  two  children,  who  are  quite  as  big  as  her- 
self, and  all  three  coil  themselves  up  into  an  in- 
definite heap  of  black  and  white  fur,  in  which  a 
head,  a  tail,  or  a  leg  occasionally  shows  itself 
without  any  particular  reference  to  any  individual 
animal. 

A  correspondent  has  furnished  me  with  a  very 
similar  account  of  her  own  cat,  "Daisy."  In 
almost  exactly  the  same  manner  the  cat  used  to 
make  herself  very  conspicuous  at  the  window. 
Her  mistress  would  then  point  toward  the  door. 
The  cat,  having  made  her  own  gesture-language 
intelligible,  understood  that  of  her  mistress,  and 
went  to  the  door  in  certain  expectation  that  it 
would  be  opened  for  her. 

Examples  of  animals  making  their  language 
intelligible  to  man  could  be  multiplied  ad  infini- 
tum,  and  I  therefore  pass  to  the  next  division  of 
the  subject,  namely,  the  capability  possessed  by 
the  lower  animals  of  understanding  the  language 
of  man. 

That  many  of  the  lower  animals  understand 
something  of  human  language  is  a  familiar  fact. 
All  the  domesticated  animals,  especially  the  dog 
and  the  horse,  can  comprehend  an  order  that  is 
given  to  them,  though,  perhaps,  they  may  not  be 
able  to  understand  the  precise  words  which  are 
used.  Yet  there  are  many  occasions,  it  is  evi- 
dent, when  the  knowledge  of  human  language 
does  extend  to  the  signification  of  particular 
words. 

Some  of  my  readers  may  remember  the  ele- 
phantine dray-horses  which  were  engaged  to  draw 
the  funeral  car  of  the  late  Duke  of  Wellington. 
When  the  time  for  starting  arrived  there  was  a 
hitch  in  the  proceedings,  for  the  horses  could  not 
be  induced  to  move.  At  last  some  one  hit  upon 
the  reason,  and  brought  a  drayman,  who  said, 
"Gee,  there!"  or  words  to  that  effect,  on  which 
the  animals  started  at  once.  These  horses  are 
never  beaten,  are  always  treated  with  kindness, 
and  are  directed  entirely  by  voice,  the  long  whip 
being  only  used  for  ornament,  or  for  gently  strok- 
ing the  animals. 

There  is  a  French  dog  called  "Turk"  near 
my  house,  who  was  in  a  very  uneasy  state  of 
mind  for  some  time  after  he  came  to  England. 
He  did  not  know  English,  and  was  as  puzzled  as 
if  he  had  been  a  human  being  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances. If  addressed  in  French,  he  seemed 
quite  delighted  and  at  his  ease;  but  it  was  not 
for  some  time  that  he  learned  English  sufficiently 
to  be  comfortable. 


There  was  a  parrot,  well  known  to  our  family, 
which  was  able  to  speak  in  two  languages,  and, 
when  addressed,  always  replied  in  the  language 
used  by  her  interlocutor,  speaking  English  or 
Portuguese,  as  the  case  might  be. 

I  never  yet  met  with  any  owners  of  pet  talking 
parrots  who  had  not  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
the  birds  not  only  imitate  human  language,  but 
that  they  understand  the  signification  of  the  words 
which  they  utter,  and  use  them  accordingly.  I 
personally  knew  two  parrots  who,  if  the  servant 
neglected  to  feed  them  at  the  proper  hour  of  the 
morning,  would  call  her  by  name,  and  shout 
loudly  for  breakfast.  There  was  another  parrot 
— a  green  one — whom  I  did  not  know  in  life, 
having  only  seen  her  preserved  skin  in  a  glass 
case.  She  was  a  great  favorite  with  the  family, 
being  allowed  to  go  at  large  over  the  house,  and 
in  consequence  was  brought  into  much  closer  re- 
lationship with  human  beings  than  is  generally 
the  case  with  birds. 

None  of  the  family  had  the  slightest  doubt 
that  Polly  was  quite  as  well  acquainted  with  the 
meaning  of  the  words  which  she  spoke  as  any  of 
them  could  have  been.  Sometimes,  before  her 
feeding-time,  she  would  call  out,  "Cook!  cook! 
I  want  potato."  She  knew  what  potato  was  as 
well  as  the  cook  did,  and  if  any  thing  else  was 
put  in  the  pan  she  would  take  the  vessel  in  her 
beak,  throw  out  all  the  contents,  and  then  cry, 
* '  Won't  have  it !  turn  it  out ! " 

Now  she  had  never  been  taught  either  the 
deed  or  the  words.  When  she  arrived  in  the 
family  she  was  new  from  her  voyage,  and  could 
only  speak  a  sort  of  jabber,  called  by  the  sailors 
"bush-talk,"  probably  picked  up  from  the  na- 
tives, together  with  a  very  few  expressions,  most 
of  which  were  of  a  nautical  and  decidedly  objec- 
tionable character.  In  all  probability  she  had 
noticed  one  of  the  servants  use  those  words  when 
throwing  something  away  which  she  disliked,  and 
had  imitated  her  both  in  word  and  in  gesture. 

On  another  occasion  one  of  the  children,  who 
was  then  about  seven  or  eight  years  of  age,  had 
been  reading  about  a  mode  of  secret  writing  by 
means  of  lemon-juice,  and  was  fired  with  a  de- 
sire to  try  the  experiment  for  herself.  There 
did  not  happen  to  be  a  lemon  in  the  house,  and 
so  she  thought  that  she  would  try  what  vinegar 
would  do.  One  of  my  children,  by  the  way, 
took  just  the  same  idea  a  few  months  ago. 

The  only  way  to  get  at  the  vinegar  was  by  in- 
tercepting the  cruets  as  they  were  brought  out 
from  her  parents'  dinner.  So  she  placed  herself 
in  readiness  in  the  kitchen,  took  the  vinegar,  and 
was  pouring  it  into  a  spoon,  when  she  was  inter- 


LANG  UA  GE— HUMAN. 


rupted  by  the  parrot,  who  called  out,  "I'll  tell 
mother!  Turn  it  out!  turn  it  out!  turn  it 
out!"  Whereupon  the  conscience-stricken  child 
threw  away  the  cruet  and  the  spoon,  and  ran  off 
to  the  nursery  as  fast  as  she  could.  She  had 
the  fullest  belief  that  the  parrot  really  would  tell 
her  mother. 

The  few  scraps  of  language  which  she  had 
learned  on  board  ship  were  occasionally  produced 
just  where  they  ought  to  have  been  omitted. 
On  one  occasion  the  remarks  were  so  singular- 
ly inopportune"  that  one  of  the  family  offered  a 
remonstrance,  saying,  "Oh,  Folly!  Polly!  who 
could  have  taught  you  such  language  ?"  Where- 
upon the  bird  at  once  replied,  "  You  did."  It  is 
impossible,  or,  at  all  events,  in  the  highest  degree 
improbable  that  the  bird  should  not  have  under- 
stood the  language  of  its  interlocutor  as  well  as 
herself. 

Being  in  a  family  almost  entirely  composed 
of  girls,  Polly  had  an  objection  to  the  opposite 
sex,  especially  in  the  form  of  boys.  On  one 
memorable  occasion  some  boys  had  come  on  a 
visit,  and,  after  the  manner  of  their  kind,  became 
very  uproarious.  At  last  Polly  could  endure  it 
no  longer,  but  called  to  one  of  the  daughters  of 
the  house,  "Sarah!  Sarah!  here  is  a  hullabal- 
loo ! "  Parrots,  by  the  way,  have  a  curious  pre- 
dilection for  the  name  of  Sarah,  which  seems  es- 
pecially easy  for  them  to  pronounce. 

The  same  parrot  always  looked  out  for  the 
presence  of  the  mistress  of  the  house  at  the 
breakfast-table.  If  she  .did  not  come  down  be- 
fore the  meal  was  begun,  Polly  would  begin  to 
inquire  after  her  in  a  plaintive  tone,  "Where's 
dear  mother  ?  is  not  dear  mother  well  ?"  and  so 
on,  evidently  having  heard  and  understood  simi- 
lar comments  by  members  of  the  household. 

A  very  similar  circumstance  is  related  of  a 
parrot  by  one  of  my  correspondents. 

It  was  an  established  custom  in  the  house- 
hold that  at  evening  prayers  the  dog  and  the  cat 
were  to  accompany  the  servants.  One  evening 
the  dog  made  his  appearance  without  his  usual 
companion ;  whereupon  the  parrot  called  out, 
"Where's  Cattie?"this  being  the  familiar  name 
by  which  the  cat  was  called  in  the  house. 

Instinct  is  quite  out  of  the  question  in  any  of 
these  cases.  The  bird  had  first  used  its  reason- 
ing powers,  and  had  then  communicated  the  re- 
sult to  human  beings  in  their  own  language. 

The  following  anecdote,  related  by  the  late 
Rev.  Caesar  Otway,  who  produces  vouchers  for 
the  exact  truth  of  the  story,  affords  a  remarkable 
instance  of  the  capability  possessed  by  the  lower 
animals  of  understanding  the  language  of  man  : 


"A  gentleman  of  property  had  a  mastiff  of 
great  size,  very  watchful,  and  altogether  a  fine,  in- 
telligent animal.  Though  often  let  out  to  range 
about,  he  was  in. general  chained  up  during  the  day. 

"On  a  certain  day  when  he  was  let  out  he 
was  observed  to  attach  himself  particularly  to 
his  master.  When  the  servant  came,  as  usual, 
to  fasten  him  up,  he  clung  so  determinedly  to 
his  master's  feet,  showed  such  anger  when  they 
attempted  to  force  him  away,  and  altogether  was 
so  peculiar  in  his  manner,  that  the  gentleman 
desired  him  to  be  left  as  he  was.  . 

"With  him  the  dog  continued  the  whole  day  ; 
and  when  night  came  on,  still  he  stayed ;  and  on 
going  toward  his  bedroom,  the  dog  resolutely, 
and  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  went  up  with 
him,  and,  rushing  into  the  room,  took  refuge  un- 
der the  bed,  whence  neither  blows  nor  caresses 
could  draw  him. 

"In  the  midst  of  the  night  a  man  burst  into 
the  room,  and,  with  dagger  in  hand,  attempted 
to  stab  the  sleeper.  But  the  dog  started  at  the 
robber's  neck,  fastened  his  fangs  in  him,  and  so 
kept  him  down  that  his  master  had  time  to  call 
for  assistance  and  secure  the  ruffian,  who  turned 
out  to  be  the  coachman.  He  afterward  confess- 
ed that,  seeing  his  master  receive  a  large  sum 
of  money,  he  and  the  groom  conspired  together 
to  rob  and  murder  him,  and  that  they  plotted 
the  whole  scheme  leaning  over  the  roof  of  the 
dog's  kennel." 

The  foregoing  statement  does  not' assert  that 
the  dog  understood  human  language  as  complete- 
ly as  the  men  themselves  did.  But  it  is  evident 
that  the  animal  did  gather  from  the  conversation 
of  the  men  that  they  intended  to  injure  his  mas- 
ter. The  narrator  does  not  state  whether  the 
conspirators  mentioned  any  particular  time  for 
the  murder,  which  was  probably  left  to  opportu- 
nity. The  companionship  of  the  dog  during  the 
day  (which  the  intending  murderers  knew)  might 
have  prevented  them  from  attacking  their  mas- 
ter by  daylight,  while  his  presence  at  night 
(which  they  did  not  know)  effectually  counter- 
acted their  plot. 

Here  is  another  anecdote,  which  shows  that 
an  animal  is  capable  of  understanding  human 
language  even  although  it  be  not  addressed  to  it 
personally.  A  gentleman  who  possessed  a  very 
intelligent  retriever  dog  was  going  from  home 
for  some  time,  and  arranged  that  the  dog  should 
be  sent  to  the  house  of  a  friend  during  his  ab- 
sence. On  the  day  fixed  for  his  departure  the 
dog  went  on  his  own  account  to  the  house,  and 
there'remained  until  his  master's  return. 

When  his  master  did  come  back  the  dog  was 


54 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


overjoyed  to  see  him,  but  became  uneasy  at  the 
long  call  which  was  being  made.  He  evidently 
took  it  into  his  head  that  his  master  was  medi- 
tating another  absence,  and  every  time  that  he 
heard  the  hall  door  shut  he  rushed  up-stairs  to 
make  sure  that  his  master  was  in  the  house.  At 
last,  losing  patience,  he  took  his  master's  hat  out 
of  the  hall,  and  carried  it  up-stairs  to  him,  as  a 
broad  hint  that  he  had  better  go  home. 

The  following  quaint  anecdote  is  told  by  the 
late  Charles  Dickens,  and  is  given  in  Forster's 
' '  Biography. "  It  is  evident  from  internal  evidence 
that  the  district  was  given  to  brick-making.  The 
story  illustrates  the  capacity  of  the  dog  for  un- 
derstanding human  language,  and  conveying 
ideas  to  human  beings  : 

"I  must  close  (14th  of  May,  1867)  with  an 
odd  story  of  a  Newfoundland  dog — an  immense, 
black,  good-humored  Newfoundland  dog. 

"He  came  from  Oxford,  and  had  lived  all 
his  life  at  a  brewery.  Instructions  were  given 
with  him  that,  if  he  were  let  out  every  morning 
alone,  he  would  immediately  find  out  the  river, 
regularly  take  a  swim,  and  gravely  come  home 
again.  This  he  did  with  the  greatest  punctuali- 
ty, but  after  a  little  while  was  observed  to  smell 
of  beer.  She  was  so  sure  that  he  smelled  of  beer 
that  she  resolved  to  watch  him. 

"Accordingly  he  was  seen  to  come  back  from 
his  swim  round  the  usual  corner,  and  to  go  up  a 
flight  of  steps  into  a  beer-shop.  Being  instantly 
followed,  the  beer-shop  keeper  is  seen  to  take 
down  a  pot  (pewter  pot),  and  is  heard  to  say, 

"  'Well,  old  chap!  Come  for  your  beer,  as 
usual,  have  you  ?' 

"  Up5n  which  he  draws  a  pint  and  puts  it 
down,  and  the  dog  drinks  it. 

"  Being  required  to  explain  how  this  comes  to 
pass,  the  man  says : 

"  '  Yes,  ma'am ;  I  know  he's  your  dog,  ma'am ; 
but  I  didn't  when  he  first  come.  He  looked  in, 
ma'am,  as  a  brick-maker  might — and  then  he 
come  in,  as  a  brick-maker  might — and  he  wagged 
his  tail  at  the  pots,  and  he  give  a  sniff  round,  and 
conveyed  to  me  as  he  was  used  to  beer.  So  I 
drawed  him  a  drop,  and  he  drank  it  up.  Next 
mornin'  he  come  agen  by  the  clock,  and  I  draw- 
ed him  a  pint,  and  ever  since  he  has  took  his 
pint  regular.'" 

My  own  dog  "  Rory"  perfectly  understood 
much  of  our  conversation,  and  if  told  by  any  of 
us  to  fetch  the  slippers,  to  shut  the  door,  to  wipe 
his  feet,  or  to  put  the  cat  down-stairs,  he  always 
performed  the  right  act,  showing  that  he  knew 
the  ideas  represented  by  different  words. 

I  know  a  dog,  named  "Banquo,"  who  has 


learned  to  wipe  his  feet  on  the  mat  when  he  goes 
to  a  strange  house ;  but  on  no  consideration  can 
he  be  induced  to  do  so  in  his  own  house,  where 
he  considers  himself  privileged  to  do  as  he  likes. 
Now  my  Rory  acted  in  a  very  different  manner, 
for  he  always  wiped  his  feet  whether  they  re- 
quired it  or  not,  and  would  never  think  of  enter- 
ing a  room  until  he  had  rubbed  all  his  feet  for 
some  little  time. 

In  connection  with  this  habit,  I  must  mention 
the  case  of  a  gigantic  Newfoundland  dog  belong- 
ing to  a  clergyman.  -He  had  not  learned  to 
wipe  his  feet,  but  he  did  know  when  they  were 
dirty,  and  acted  accordingly.  When  he  came  in 
with  dirty  feet,  he  crept  into  the  hall  gently,  and 
so  up-stairs,  taking  care  not  to  allow  his  foot- 
steps to  be  heard.  But  when  his  feet  were  clean, 
he  would  clatter  up  and  down  stairs,  making  al- 
most as  much  noise  as  a  pony. 

The  dog  "Banquo,"  who  has  already  been 
mentioned,  has  a  fine  capacity  for  imitating  a 
lady  in  hysterics.  When  told  to  go  into  hys- 
terics, he  sits  in  his  mistress's  lap,  howls,  yelps, 
flourishes  his  paws  in  a  most  fantastic  manner, 
and  ends  by  flinging  himself  backward.  But  he 
never  performs  this  last  feat  without  looking  to 
see  that  a  protecting  arm  is  ready  to  catch  him 
as  he  falls,  thus  adding  to  the  truth  of  the  repre- 
sentation. I  have  often  seen  him  go  through 
this  performance,  and  a  most  ludicrous  one  it  is. 

The  lady  who  possesses  this  animal,  and  who 
has  taught  it  many  comical  tricks,  sends  the  fol- 
lowing remarks  on  the  training  of  dogs : 

"Any  one  wishing  to  educate  dogs  should 
commence  by  teaching  them  a  few  simple  words 
(not  blows),  with  occasional  rewards  for  pro- 
ficiency in  any  accomplishment.  Twilight,  and 
the  dim  but  cheerful  light  of  the  winter  fire, 
seems  a  fitting  time  for  a  pause  in  the  day's  work 
or  the  day's  amusements,  and  then  our  little  dog 
Banquo  thinks  himself  entitled  to  share  in  the 
conversation.  Last  winter,  having  taught  him 
that  his  two  fore  paws  are  his  hands,  I  showed 
him  how  to  warm  them  by  sitting  up  and  hold- 
ing them  outstretched  to  the  fire.  I  remember 
at  a  friend's  house  seeing  three  cats  on  three 
footstools,  in  undisturbed  possession  of  the  din- 
ing-room fire.  Our  dogs  are  never  allowed  thus 
to  monopolize  either  fire  or  hearth-rug,  there- 
fore the  command  '  Come  and  warm  your  hands ' 
is  generally  most  willingly  obeyed." 

The  following  anecdote  is  sent  to  me  by  a  gen- 
tleman living  at  Bassendean : 

"I  had  a  Bedlington  terrier,  called  'Ned,'  a 
very  clever  and  intelligent  dog.  A  few  months 
ago  I  was  in  the  Bassendean  bog,  when  Ned 


LANG  UA  GE— HUMAN. 


55 


started  a  rabbit  among  some  whins.  The  rab- 
bit ran  toward  the  dike,  and  escaped  its  pursuer 
by  getting  into  a  hole  in  the  dike.  Two  men 
happened  to  be  passing  at  the  time,  and,  though 
strangers  to  the  dog,  they  helped  him  by  pulling 
away  some  stones  at  the  place  where  the  rabbit 
had  concealed  itself. 

"Ned  immediately  sprang  into  the  hole,  caught 
the  rabbit,  and,  after  killing  it,  ran  off  with  it  to 
me,  a  distance  of  three  or  four  hundred  yards. 
I  said  to  the  dog,  *  Ned,  you  scoundrel,  how  dare 
you  take  the  rabbit  from  those  men  ?'  The  words 
were  scarcely  out  of  my  mouth  when  my  dog 
started  off  as  fast  as  he  could  run,  with  the  rab- 
bit in  his  mouth,  and  laid  it  at  the  strangers'  feet. 

"Any  dog  may  be  trained  to  carry  things  to 
his  master,  but  this  is  the  only  instance  I  know 
of  where  the  dog  took  the  thing  to  a  stranger. 
It  certainly  showed  that  he  understood  my  words. 

"When  I  am  out  in  the  fields,  Ned  is  always 
told  to  take  care  of  my  coat,  in  the  pocket  of 
which  I  often  have  large  sums  of  money.  He 
has  sometimes  been  left  in  the  field  alone  until 
eight  o'clock  at  night,  and,  although  the  field  has 
been  full  of  laborers  and  Irish  reapers,  not  one  of 
them  has  dared  to  touch  the  coat.  The  dog  is 
peculiarly  mild  and  gentle  in  his  temper,  but  he 
will  not  permit  any  one  to  touch  his  master's 
property." 

The  following  pathetic  little  story  is  from  the 
same  source : 

"Mr.  H had  a  beautiful  little  Blenheim 

spaniel,  called  '  Carina.'  About  the  beginning  of 
1873,  while  the  family  were  from  home,  the  gar- 
dener slept  in  the  house  to  take  care  of  it. 

"One  night  Carina,  who  had  a  family  of 
healthy  puppies  about  a  fortnight  old,  came  to 
the  man's  room,  and  scraped  at  the  bedclothes 
until  he  awoke.  Without  striking  a  light  or  ex- 
amining the  dog  in  any  way,  the  man  said,  '  Ca- 
rina, go  back  to  your  puppies,'  and  the  dog  accord- 
ingly went  away.  In  a  short  time  she  came 
again,  and  awoke  the  man  in  the  same  way.  She 
again  received  the  same  order,  and  obeyed  it 
as  before.  In  the  morning,  when  the  gardener 
went  to  look  at  the  dogs,  the  puppies  were  quite 
well,  and  Carina  was  lying  by  their  side  quite 
dead.  Her  puppies  survived,  and  were  brought 
up  on  cow's  milk." 

It  is  evident  that  the  poor  little  dog  felt  her 
end  approaching,  and  tried  to  make  her  last  fare- 
well before  she  died.  That  she  was  not  under- 
stood was  not  the  fault  of  the  dog,  but  of  the  man, 
who  was  too  dull  or  too  sleepy  to  comprehend  her 
meaning,  though  she  could  understand  him. 

Here  is  an  account  of  a  dog  which  shows  that 


animals  who  live  much  with  mankind  manage  to 
learn  more  of  human  language  than  is  generally 
supposed.  It  was  sent  to  me  by  a  lady  who 
knew  the  dog,  the  collie  named  "Moss,"  who 
has  already  been  mentioned : 

"His  master  and  the  shepherd  were  employed 
in  moving  sheep  from  one  part  of  the  farm  to  an- 
other. On  reaching  a  certain  point  they  fell  into 
a  dispute  about  the  number  of  the  sheep,  the 
shepherd  saying  that  they  had  the  proper  number, 
while  the  farmer  thought  that  there  ought  to  bo 
one  more.  Not  being  able  to  decide,  they  jok- 
ingly appealed  to  Moss.  The  dog  at  once  started 
off,  and  presently  returned,  driving  before  him 
the  missing  sheep,  which  he  had  brought  from  a 
spot  quite  out  of  sight,  and  a  considerable  dis- 
tance on  the  opposite  side  of  a  hill." 

Collie  dogs  are  noted  for  the  manner  in  which 
they  can  understand  their  masters'  wishes ;  and 
the  following  anecdotes  sent  me  by  a  Scotch 
gentleman  show  that  they  not  only  comprehend 
his  general  meaning,  but  the  actual  signification 
of  his  words : 

"  For  several  years  within  the  last  half  century 
a  deceased  friend  of  mine  was  extensively  en- 
gaged in  the  wool  trade,  and  was  a  considerable 
buyer  in  Dumfriesshire.  In  one  of  these  jour- 
neys, and  after  a  forty-mile  drive  in  his  gig,  he 
reached  the  house  of  a  hill  farmer  in  that  coun- 
try, arriving  just  at  the  close  of  the  day.  The 
farmer  told  him  that  his  samples  of  wool  were 
at  some  distance  from  the  house,  and  that  he 
would  submit  them  for  inspection  on  the  follow- 
ing morning.  My  friend  met  with  an  hospitable 
reception,  and  as  the  hours  of  evening  glided  on 
the  conversation  turned  on  the  management  of 
sheep  and  cattle,  and  especially  on  a  fine  breed 
of  shepherd  dogs  possessed  by  the  farmer. 

"Early  in  the  morning  all  were  astir,  and  the 
farmer  and  his  visitor  left  the  house  for  the  pur- 
pose of  examining  the  different  kinds  of  wool. 
But  great  was  the  astonishment  of  my  friend 
when  they  reached  a  level  patch  of  ground  be- 
tween high  hills  where  there  was  nothing  to  be 
seen  but  a  shepherd  and  two  dogs,  to  be  told  that 
this  was  the  place  for  inspecting  the  wool. 

"  He  was  asked  which  kind  of  wool  he  would 
look  at  first,  and,  having  named  the  kind,  the 
shepherd  called  one  of  the  dogs,  and  directed  him 
to  turn  the  sheep  upon  one  of  the  hills,  and 
bring  them  to  him.  The  wise  animal  bounded 
off,  and  in  a  very  short  time  the  sheep  were  seen 
descending  the  hill  by  an  easy  pathway.  The 
wool  was  examined,  and  the  sheep  driven  back 
to  the  hill  by  another  road.  In  the  mean  while 
the  second  dog  was  sent  to  bring  forward  another 
breed  of  sheep  from  a  different  place,  and  so  on 


56 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


until  all  was  finished,  and  without  the  least  con- 
fusion. This  plan  was  followed  by  the  worthy 
farmer  because  he  had  not  been  able  to  find  time 
to  clip  his  sheep." 

J P ,  an  elder  in  a  Border  congrega- 
tion of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church,  and  a 
very  truthful  and  worthy  man,  lately  informed  me 
that  when  he  was  a  young  lad  he  was  at  service 

at  B farm,  in  Berwickshire,  and  had  charge 

of  the  cattle.  In  the  discharge  of  his  duties  he 
was  accompanied  by  a  very  intelligent  collie  dog, 
called  "Watch." 

The  farm  is  bounded  on  the  west  by  the 
river  Whiteadder.  Its  stream  is  comparatively 
trifling  in  dry  weather ;  but,  owing  to  the  drain- 
age of  the  high  lands  on  its  banks,  whenever 
rain  falls  in  any  quantity  hundreds  of  little  rills 
pour  into  the  channel  of  the  river,  so  that  in  a 
very  short  time  it  overflows  its  banks.  For  the 
same  reason  it  diminishes  rapidly  when  the  rain 


On  one  occasion,  the  day  being  stormy  and 
cold,  he  went  into  one  of  the  cottages  to  warm 
himself,  and  on  coming  out  he  observed  that  one 
of  the  "  kyloes  "  had  strayed  from  the  rest.  On 
looking  about,  he  saw  the  missing  animal  grazing 
among  some  cattle  belonging  to  another  farm  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  During  his  ab- 
sence in  the  cottage  a  rain-storm  had  come  on, 
and  the  river  had  risen  to  a  flood,  so  that  he 
found  it  impossible  to  cross  it  and  bring  back 
the  strayed  beast.  •  ? 

Not  knowing  what  to  do,  and  without  any  ex- 
pectation that  he  would  be  understood,  he  said 
to  the  dog,  {' Watch,  I  canna  gang  through  to 
fetch  the  kyloe;  ye'll  hae  to  gang."  The  intel- 
ligent animal  immediately  plunged  into  the  rap- 
id rolling  water,  and  reached  the  opposite  bank. 
He  went  straight  to  the  animal  which  belonged 
to  his  master,  paying  no  regard  to  the  others 
which  were  grazing  with  it,  and  brought  the 
beast  safely  across,  both  animals  being  obliged 
to  swim. 

By  so  doing  he  helped  his  master  out  of  a 
scrape ;  for  the  kyloe  could  not  have  strayed 
if  he  had  not  neglected  his  duty  by  staying  in 
the  hut  long  enough  to  allow  the  river  to  rise. 

The  same  man,  when  engaged  on  another 
farm,  had  a  collie  dog  to  help  him.  One  day, 
after  the  cattle  had  been  driven  into  the  sheds, 
he  found  that  he  must  remain  for  some  time 
longer  in  order  to  fodder  them.  He  turned  to 
the  dog  and  said,  "I dinna  need  ye  any  mair  to- 
night, an'  ye  had  better  gang  hame  noo."  The 
dog  perfectly  understood  him,  and  went  home  at 
once. 


"  'Ben,'  a  very  fine  collie,  belongs  to  an  ac- 
quaintance of  mine,  a  farmer.  One  day,  as  Ben's 
master  was  preparing  to  go  to  a  village  at  some 
miles'  distance,  his  wife  asked  whether  he  meant 
to  take  Ben  with  him.  He  answered  that  he 
should  not  do  so,  and  told  her  to  lock  up  the  dog 
until  he  came  back.  Ben,  hearing  this,  slipped 
out  of  the  house  unperceived ;  and  when  his  mas- 
ter reached  the  village,  he  found  Ben  waiting  for 
him." 

It  is  evident  that  in  this  case  the  dog  must 
not  only  have  understood  that  he  was  not  to  go, 
and  that  he  would  be  locked  up  in  order  to  keep 
him  at  home,  but  that  he  must  have  known  and 
recognized  the  name  of  the  village  which  his 
master  was  about  to  visit. 

"  On  one  occasion  when  the  farmer  was  going* 
to  Berwick  by  train  from  the  village  which  has 
just  been  mentioned,  the  faithful  Ben  had  con- 
trived to  follow  him,  and  sprang  into  the  car- 
riage just  as  the  train  moved  off,  so  that  he  could 
not  be  turned  out.  The  dog  attended  him  all 
day  until  his  master  was  about  to  leave.  Time 
was  up,  so  that  he  could  not  wait  for  the  dog, 
but  went  off  in  the  train  to  the  station  whence  he 
had  started,  and  thence  to  his  home.  He  had 
only  reached  his  house  for  a  very  short  time, 
when  Ben  presented  himself,  all  covered  with 
mud,  and  quite  flustered  with  fatigue,  having 
evidently  run  the  whole  distance,  some  thirteen 
miles,  at  full  speed. " 

Reference  will  be  made  to  this  branch  of  the 
subject  unaer  the  title  of  "Love  of  Master." 

A  Scotch  gentleman  has  kindly  forwarded  to 
me  the  two  accompanying  stories,  which  illus- 
trate the  wonderful  capacity  enjoyed  by  many 
dogs  of  understanding  even  the  minutest  of  their 
masters'  language : 

"A  son-in-law  of  mine,  an  extensive  sheep- 
farmer  in  Berwickshire,  Mr.  G ,  of  C , 

had  a  collie  dog,  'Sweep,'  one  of  the  very  best 
of  his  kind.  When,  on  account  of  old  age,  he 
became  unfit  for  his  ordinary  work,  he  was  used 
for  taking  out  and  bringing  in  the  cattle  from 
the  parks.  He  generally  lay  before  the  kitchen 
fire,  and,  when  milking-time  came,  all  that  was 
required  was  to  say,  'Sweep,  go  for  the  cows,' 
when  he  would  at  once  get  up  and  go  for  them, 
bringing  them  up  to  the  byre  without  any  assist- 
ance whatever. 

"It  sometimes  happened  that  he  would  leave 
a  cow  behind  in  the  field ;  but  whenever  he 
was  told  so,  he  would  again  start  off,  pick  out 
the  cow  from  among  the  young  cattle,  and  take 
her  to  the  byre  with  the  rest.  I  regret  to  say 
that  poor  Sweep  is  dead.  Without  any  premon- 


LANG  UA  OE— HUMAN. 


57 


itory  symptoms  of  illness,  he  was  found  lying 
cold  and  stiff  one  morning  in  front  of  the  shep- 
herd's house. 

"Some  time  about  the  beginning  of  the  cent- 
ury there  lived  on  Clint's  farm  a  man  of  the 
name  of  '  Baldie  Tait,'  a  noted  sheep -stealer. 
He  had  a  collie  as  accomplished  a  thief  as  him- 
self, and  there  are  those  still  alive  who  have 
known  him  to  direct  this  dog  to  go  to  Heriot 
Muir,  a  distance  of  several  miles,  to  pick  out  the 
best  sheep  he  could  get,  take  them  to  Hanging- 
shaw,  a  wayside  public-house  on  the  high-road 
to  Edinburgh,  and  remain  with  them  till  Baldie 
should  come,  when  they  were  driven  to  Edin- 
burgh and  sold. 

".Baldie  had  become  so  notorious  in  his  un- 
lawful calling  that  a  warrant  was  issued  for  his 
apprehension.  On  the  day  on  which  he  heard 
of  this  he  went  to  a  sale  of  farm  stock  at  a  place 
called  Muircleuch,  near  Lauder.  He  as  well  as 
his  dog  were  well  known ;  and  Baldie,  knowing 
how  to  improve  the  occasion,  put  up  the  dog  to 
be  sold  by  auction,  got  ten  pounds  for  it,  and  de- 
camped at  once — not  a  minute  too  soon,  for  in  a 
short  time  the  minions  of  the  law  were  on  his 
track,  but  they  were  too  late." 

On  receiving  this  account,  I  wrote  to  the  nar- 
rator, expressing  my  surprise  that  even  so  great  a 
rascal  as  Baldie  should  have  parted  with  his  dog. 
I  found,  however,  that  selling  the  dog  was  a  way 
he  had  when  he  wanted  money ;  for,  by  some 
means  unknown,  he  always  got  the  animal  back 
again. 

One  of  my  correspondents  has  favored  me 
with  a  brief  history  of  a  dog  which  understood 
and  obeyed  the  orders  of  its  master : 

"Not  many  years  ago  there  lived  in  Edinburgh 
a  drunken,  shiftless  mole- catcher,  of  the  name 
of  Hastie.  Like  most  of  his  trade,  he  was  very 
fond  of  dogs,  especially  terriers  ;  and  he  had  one 
which  he  loved  above  all  others,  calling  her  his 
'blessed  Susie.' 

"She  often  used  to  act  the  part  popularly  at- 
tributed to  the  jackal,  and  provide  her  master 
with  food.  When,  as  often  happened,  Hastie 
was  in  straits  for  food,  and  had  no  money,  he 
would  go  past  a  butcher's-shop,  point  to  a  piece 
of  meat,  and  say  quietly,  'Susie,  I  want  that.' 
He  then  went  on  his  way,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
the  meat  was  sure  to  be  in  his  possession. 

"Time  wore  on,  and,  as  every  thing  mortal 
must  have  an  end,  poor  Susie  became  sick  unto 
death.  The  last  I  heard  of  the  poor  waif  was, 
that  he  was  seen  with  the  dying  object  of  his  af- 
fection in  his  arms,  hugging  her  and  pressing  her 
to  his  heart.  The  man  was  weeping  like  a  child, 


and  dreading  the  swiftly  coming  moment  when 
he  and  his  beloved  Susie  were  to  be  parted." 

There  really  must  have  been  a  substratum  of 
good  in  this  poor  dissipated  man,  or  he  never 
could  have  cherished  or  inspired  so  sincere  a 
love. 

I  have  been  rather  uncertain  as  to  the  heading 
under  which  the  following  anecdote  ought  to  be 
placed.  As  the  reader  will  see,  it  illustrates  rea- 
soning and  conscience,  as  well  as  the  power  of 
understanding  human  language.  The  last-men- 
tioned attribute,  however,  being  very  strongly 
manifested,  I  have  placed  the  story  in  its  present 
position.  I  give  the  story  in  the  words  of  the 
gentleman  who  kindly  sent  it  to  me: 

"My  grandfather,  Mr.  H ,  of  Gilchrist- 

cleugh,  in  Lanarkshire,  possessed  a  watch-dog  of 
the  name  of  '  Help,'  who  was  usually  kept  chain- 
ed up.  For  some  time  repeated  losses  had  taken 
place  among  the  sheep,  some  of  which  were  found 
torn  and  mangled,  but  only  partially,  if  at  all,  de- 
voured. Every  effort  to  trace  the  secret  enemy 

proved  in  vain.  At  last,  while  Mr.  H was 

walking  one  day  on  the  banks  of  a  little  river 
which  flowed  at  the  foot  of  the  pasture  hill,  his 
attention  was  attracted  by  seeing  his  dog,  whom 
he  supposed  to  be  safely  chained  near  the  house, 
running  down  the  hill. 

"As  the  dog  drew  near,  it  was  seen  that  his 
mouth  and  fangs  were  covered  with  blood.  My 
grandfather  concealed  himself  so  that  he  might 
watch  unobserved  what  would  follow.  The  dog 
walked  into  the  river,  dipped  his  face  in  the  wa- 
ter, and  shook  his  head  backward  and  forward, 
until  he  thought  that  all  traces  of  his  guilt  were 
removed.  He  then  came  out  at  the  side  next 
the  house,  toward  which  he  proceeded,  his  master 
following  at  a  little  distance.  The  dog  went  to 
his  kennel,  and,  with  the  help  of  his  paws,  put  on 
his  collar,  which  was  lying  with  the  chain  on  the 
ground. 

"  My  grandfather  walked  up  to  him  and  said, 
'Help,  my  poor  fellow,  there  is  no  help  for  you.' 
He  then  went  away,  and  gave  the  necessary  or- 
ders for  the  dog's  execution.  But  when  the  serv- 
ant came  to  lead  him  to  his  doom  the  collar 
was  once  more  empty,  and  '  Help'  was  never 
more  heard  of  in  the  county." 

It  is  plain  that  the  dog  must  have  perfectly 
understood  the  meaning,  if  not  the  exact  words, 
of  his  master's  speech. 

No  reproaches  had  been  used ;  but  he  felt 
himself  detected,  and  understood  that  he  would 
have  to  suffer  for  his  crime  if  he  did  not  ab- 
scond. 

Another  story  of  a  very  similar  character  was 


58 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


sent  to  me,  but  I  have  mislaid  the  MS.,  and  can 
not  remember  the  name  of  the  narrator. 

A  gentleman  had  an  old  dog,  which  was  so 
weighed  down  with  the  many  infifmities  of  age 
that  his  master  thought  that  the  kindest  treat- 
ment was  a  quick  instead  of  a  lingering  death. 
Accordingly,  he  asked  a  medical  friend  to  bring 
some  poison.  This  he  did,  and,  laying  it  on  the 
table,  said,  without  mentioning  the  dog's  name, 
"That  is  the  stuff  which  will  do  his  business." 
The  dog  was  at  the  time  in  the  room ;  but  soon 
afterward  his  master  noticed  his  absence,  and  in- 
quired about  him.  No  one  had  seen  the  dog, 
and  no  one  did  see  him  again.  In  some  myste- 
rious way  he  had  conjectured  the  object  of  the 
visitor,  and  had  withdrawn  himself,  probably  to 
die  in  some  hidden  spot,  as  is  the  way  of  all  an- 
imals when  they  feel  that  the  thread  of  life  is 
being  loosened. 

Here  I  may  observe  that  nothing  would  in- 
duce me  to  poison  a  dog,  or  allow  it  to  be  poi- 
soned, except  by  a  competent  person  who  would 
administer  a  dose  of  prussic  acid.  Strychnine 
and  arsenic,  which  are  the  usual  poisons  employ- 
ed for  killing  dogs,  cause  horrible  agony  before 
death.  Hanging  and  drowning  are  each  objec- 
tionable, as  the  life  is  extinguished  by  degrees 
instead  of  suddenly,  as  ought  to  be  the  case.  A 
bullet  or  a  charge  of  shot  through  the  brain  is  by 
far  the  most  humane  mode  of  destroying  life, 
as  the  great  centre  of  feeling  is  instantaneously 
crushed,  and  there  is  no  time  for  even  the  slight- 
est sense  of  pain. 

In  the  story  narrated  below  it  is  evident  that 
the  dog  perfectly  understood  the  words  of  his  mis- 
tress, for  he  did  violence  to  his  own  feelings,  and 
obeyed  the  wish  which  his  mistress  conveyed  in 
her  rebuke.  A  thoughtless  child,  if  reproved  for 
a  similar  action  and  behaving  in  the  same  man- 
ner, would  be  held  to  have  acted  in  a  way  that 
became  a  being  possessed  of  an  immortal  soul. 

A  lady,  who  is  a  thorough  appreciator  of  ani- 
mal character,  writes  to  me  as  follows  on  this 
subject : 

"Dogs  perfectly  understand  human  language 
when  reference  is  made  to  them,  even  though  the 
words  are  not  directed  to  the  dog  personally. 
If  my  little  dog  ever  heard  me  make  a  plan  in 
which  he  was  to  be  left  at  home,  while  I  was  to 
go  somewhere  without  him,  'Nettle'  invariably 
set  to  work  to  counter-dodge  me,  and  often  got 
his  own  way  in  consequence.  It  was  impossible 
to  resist  his  queer,  elfish  determination. " 

We  knew  a  dog  named  "Bijou,"  a  thorough- 


bred Spitzberger.  The  house  in  which  he  lived 
was  one  of  a  terrace  with  a  veranda  running 
throughout  its  whole  length,  only  separated  by 
a  wooden  railing  at  each  house.  This  veranda 
was  Bijou's  favorite  resort;  here  he  carried  his 
chicken  bones,  and  here  contemplated  the  pro- 
ceedings of  his  neighbors. 

"  One  day  a  half-starved  dog  spied  one  of  his 
bones  lying  about,  carried  it  to  the  mat  at  the 
door  of  the  next  house,  and  began  eagerly  to  de- 
vour it.  Bijou  saw  the  theft  from  the  window, 
sprang  out  with  a  threatening  growl,  carried  oft' 
the  bone,  and  replaced  it  on  his  own  mat. 

"His  mistress,  who  had  been  watching  the 
action  of  the  dogs,  said  to  him,  '  Oh,  you  greedy 
dog!  You  can  eat  no  more,  and  that  poor  dog 
is  starving.'  Bijou  at  once  picked  up  the  bone 
of  contention,  carried  it  to  his  starving  fellow, 
laid  it  before  him,  and  retired  to  his  own  house, 
from  the  window  of  which  he  contemplated,  with 
a  benign  aspect,  the  disappearance  of  the  bone." 

The  following  letter,  which  was  sent  to  me  by 
the  Honorable  Grantley  F.  Berkeley,  illustrates 
the  individuality  of  character  to  be  found  in  dogs, 
the  love  which  they  bear  toward  their  master, 
and  their  knowledge  of  man's  language : 

"There  was  in  my  pet  greyhound  'Brenda,' 
there  was  in  my  dear  lurcher  'Smoker, 'and 
there  is  now  in  my  dear  lurcher  'Bar,'  and  in 
my  three  setters  '  Chance,' '  Quail,'  and  'Quince,' 
^refinement  of  feeling  and  sagacity  infinitely  be- 
yond that  existing  in  multitudes  of  the  human 
race,  whether  inhabiting  the  deserts  or  the  realms 
of  civilization. 

"I  can  not  better  define  it  than  by  saying 
that,  if  I  give  these  dogs  a  hastily  angered  word 
in  my  room,  though  they  have  never  been  beat- 
en, they  will,  with  an  expression  of  the  most  de- 
jected sorrow,  go  into  a  corner  behind  some 
chair,  sofa,  or  table,  and  lie  there.  Perhaps  I 
may  have  been  guilty  of  a  hasty  rebuke  to  them 
for  jogging  my  table  or  elbow  while  I  was  writ- 
ing, and  then  continued  to  write  on.  Some  time 
after,  not  having  seen  my  companions  lying  on 
the  rug  before  the  fire,  I  have  remembered  the 
circumstance,  and,  in  a  tone  of  voice  to  which 
they  are  used,  I  have  said,  '  There,  you  are  for- 
given.' In  an  instant,  the  greyhound  Brenda 
would  fly  into  my  lap  and  cover  me  with  kisses, 
her  heart  tumultuously  beating.  After  she  grew 
old,  her  joy  at  my  return  home  after  a  long  ab- 
sence has  at  times  nearly  killed  her ;  and  when 
I  was  away,  the  bed  she  loved  best  was  one  of 
my  old  shooting-jackets,  but  never  when  I  was 
at  home. 

"Had  I  time,  I  could  look  up  many  an  in- 


LANG  UA  GE— HUMAN. 


59 


stance  of  soul,  in  some  senses  of  the  word ;  but 
I  have  not." 

Here  is  another  of  a  physician's  reminiscences, 
showing  that  dogs  can  exchange  ideas  with 
human  beings,  and  understand  the  language  of 
man: 

"Having  been  much  taken  with  the  intelli- 
gence, faithfulness,  and  beauty  of  a  terrier  be- 
longing to  a  coachman  whose  family  I  attended, 
I  purchased  three  of  her  pups  for  myself  and 
two  friends. 

* '  Shortly  after  this  the  coachman  and  his 
family  moved  to  a  new  house,  where  they  had  no 
friends.  His  wife  was  taken  suddenly  and  seri- 
ously ill,  and  could  not  stir  from  bed.  The  dog 
lay  constantly  at  her  feet,  and  never  moved  till 
the  door  was  opened,  when  off  she  set  in  great 
haste.  She  went  to  the  house  of  the  suffering 
woman's  parents,  made  a  great  and  unwonted 
noise,  and  often  went  to  the  door,  even  laying 
hold  of  the  woman's  gown. 

"The  animal  never  rested  until  she  followed 
it,  when  it  manifested  every  token  of  approba- 
tion, as  it  looked  around  from  time  to  time.  It 
went  straight  to  her  daughter's  house,  when  the 
real  cause  of  the  strange  conduct  of  the  dog  was 
understood.  The  dog  resumed  its  place,  and 
scarcely  left  it  for  a  moment  until  its  mistress  re- 
covered. I  then  said,  'Now,  "Missy,"  you  may 
come  with  me,'  when  she  went  all  her  round 
with  me,  and  returned  home  after  dinner.  This 
was  repeated  several  times. 

"The  dog  seemed  really  to  understand  many 
things  you  said,  and  even  to  forestall  your 
wishes." 

In  this  interesting  story  we  find  in  an  animal 
a  singular  aggregation  of  faculties  which  are  held 
in  man  to  belong  to  the  immortal,  and  not  to  the- 


mortal  part  of  his  being.  There  is  reason,  i.  e., 
the  deduction  of  a  conclusion  from  premises. 
There  is  the  power  of  forming  ideas  and  commu- 
nicating them  to  man,  and  the  capability  of  un- 
derstanding man's  language,  and,  as  the  writer 
says,  even  of  anticipating  the  wishes  of  her  hu- 
man friends.  Lastly,  there  is  the  intense  love 
for  her  mistress,  combined  with  the  power  of 
self-sacrifice,  which  enabled  her  to  keep  her  irk- 
some watch  by  the  sick-bed  while  her  instinct 
was  urging  her  to  take  her  accustomed  exercise 
in  the  open  air. 

The  cat  which  is  mentioned  in  the  following 
anecdote  is  the  mother  of  Tiny,  whose  exploit 
with  a  lobster  has  been  previously  narrated.  The 

writer  is  Lady  E .  The  reader  will  see  that 

it  illustrates  two  subjects  :  first,  the  fact  that  the 
cat  understood  human  language ;  and  next,  that 
she  could  make  her  message  understood  by  a 
human  being. 

"After  my  great  loss,  whenever  I  was  left 
alone  in  the  room,  *  Rosy '  usually  placed  herself 
on  the  table  beside  me,  and  watched  my  counte- 
nance most  earnestly. 

"About  this  time,  my  sister,  who  was  living 
with  me,  had  been  some  time  in  her  room,  and, 
wishing  her  to  come  to  me,  I  said,  '  Rosy,  go  up- 
stairs and  tell  Augusta  that  I  want  her.'  The 
cat  immediately  jumped  from  the  table,  ran  up- 
stairs to  my  sister's  room,  leaped  upon  the  chest 
of  drawers  by  which  she  was  standing,  and,  put- 
ting her  paw  on  Augusta's  hand,  mewed,  then 
hurried  down-stairs,  mewing  and  looking  around. 
This  proceeding,  Augusta  could  not  mistake,  was 
intended  to  call  her  down-stairs ;  so  she  follow- 
ed, and  asked  if  I  wanted  her,  as  Rosy  had  been 
to  call  her.  Rosy  appeared  delighted  at  being 
understood,  and  purred  with  satisfaction." 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MEMORY. 

Memory  versus  Materialism.— Connection  of  the  Brain  with  Memory.— The  Workman  and  his  Tools.— Mem- 
ory in  the  Insects.— The  Tame  Butterflies.— Sir  J.  Lubbock's  Tame  Wasp.— Bees  and  Wasps  find  their 
Way  by  Memory,  not  by  Instinct. — Comparison  with  Human  Beings  under  Similar  Circumstances.— 
Memory  the  Means  by  which  Animals,  as  well  as  Men,  are  Capable  of  being  Taught — Two  Tame  Moles; 
which  would  Come  when  Called. — A  Partially  Tamed  Tiger-cat. — Memory  in  the  Water-hen  and  Cocka- 
too.—The  Power  of  Memory  among  Poultry.— Memory  in  the  Ass.—"  Donald,"  the  Galloway,  and  his 
Long-lost  Friend.— Memory  of  the  Wolf.— Karey  versus  "Cruiser."— Memory  in  the  Cat.— "Fan,"  the 
Blenheim  Spaniel. 


I  SHOULD  think  that  Memory  must  be  rath- 
er a  hard  nut  for  materialists  to  crack.  What 
is  that  which  survives,  though  every  particle  of 
the  material  brain  has  been  repeatedly  changed  ? 
What  is  that  which  more  or  less  deeply  receives 
impressions  and  retains  them  through  a  long  se- 
ries of  years  ?  And  even  when  they  seem  to  be 
forgotten,  they  are  often  but  hidden  behind  a 
temporary  veil,  which  at  the  touch  of  a  passing 
scent  in  the  nostrils,  a  dimly  heard  sound  strik- 
ing upon  the  ear,  the  waving  of  a  branch,  or  the 
nodding  of  a  flower,  appealing  to  the  eye,  is  in  a 
moment  rent  asunder,  and  scenes  long  forgotten 
are  reproduced  before  the  memory  as  vividly  as 
though  time  had  been  annihilated.  Nothing  is 
omitted ;  but  there  comes  a  minute  and  instan- 
taneous insight  into  every  detail,  that  gives  us 
some  faint  idea  of  the  omnipresence  and  omnis- 
cience of  the  Creator,  to  whom  space  and  time 
are  absolutely  as  nothing.  For  a  moment  we 
escape  from  our  fleshly  tabernacle,  and  we  see 
and  hear  with  our  spiritual  and  not  with  our 
material  organs  of  sight  and  hearing. 

As  to  ourselves,  we  expect  that  we  shall  retain 
our  memory,  and  cany  it  into  the  next  world. 
We  expect  to  recognize  in  the  spiritual  world 
those  whom  we  have  loved  on  this  temporal 
world.  Memory,  therefore,  must  be  spiritual  and 
eternal;  and  wherever  memory  can  be  found, 
there  is  an  immortal  spirit.  Apart  from  Reve- 
lation, which  we  have  already  considered,  there 
is  no  stronger  evidence  of  a  future  life  of  man 
than  memory,  and,  in  pure  justice,  if  we  apply 
this  proof  to  ourselves,  we  ought  to  apply  it 
wherever  memory  is  found. 

Some  have  said  that  memory  is  a  mere  ema- 
nation from  the  brain,  and  have  tried  to  prove 
their  point  by  asserting  that  which  no  one  ever 
denied,  that  an  inferior  brain  is  coupled  with  an 


!  inferior  intellect,  that  if  the  brain  be  injured  by 
:  any  cause  all  the  powers  of  thought  are  weakened, 
1  and  that  if  it  be  seriously  damaged  all  powers  of 
i  thought  are  utterly  in  abeyance. 

All  this  is  true  enough,  but  it  affords  no  proof 

,  that  thought  is  the  creation  of  the  brain.     On 

I  the  contrary,  the  brain  is  the  organ  or  instru- 

|  ment  of  the  thought -power,  and  stands  to  it  in 

'  the  same  relation  that  a  tool  does  to  a  carpenter. 

However  good  an  artisan  a  carpenter  may  be,  he 

!  can  not  turn  out  good  work  with  a  blunt  tool,  nor 

i  any  work  at  all  with  a  broken  one.     So  it  is  with 

[  the  brain  :  it  is  but  the  tool  of  the  spirit,  and,  if 

it  be  injured  in  any  way.  the  keenest  intellect 

will  be  unable  to  work  with  it. 

Moreover,  memory  exists  in  creatures  which 
have  no  brain  at  all.  Take,  for  example,  the 
I  insects,  which  have  no  real  brain,  but  only  a 
succession  of  nervous  ganglia  running  along  the 
body,  and  in  many  of  them  we  shall  find  the  fac- 
ulty of  memory  very  strongly  developed. 

Some  ten  years  ago,  I  gave,  in  my  "  Glimpses 
into  Fetland,"  published  by  Messrs.  Bell  &  Dal- 
dy,  an  account  of  two  butterflies  which  had  been 
i  tamed  by  a  lady.     One  of  the  very  critical  week- 
,  ly  papers  was  good  enough  to  treat  the  whole 
!  story  with  scorn  and  derision,  saying  that  I  gave 
it  as  from  a  lady,  and  thereby  insinuating  that 
j  the  account  was  a  willful  imposition  on  the  pub- 
lic.    The  story  had  been  told  to  me  by  the  lady 
in  question,  whom  I  have  known  for  many  years, 
I  and  at  my  request  she  gave  it  in  writing. 

Here  is  the  story,  as  published  in  "  Petland :" 

"Among  the  many  pets  that  I  have  loved  and 
lost,  few  have  endeared  themselves  more  to  me 
than  mv  butterflies,  two  of  which  I  once  kept  for 
j  the  space  of  a  year  and  a  half. 

"They  came  into  my  possession  when  in  their 


MEMORY. 


chrysalis  state,  and  I,  not  knowing  any  thing  of 
entomology,  shut  them  up  for  safety  in  a  cabinet 
having  glass  doors.  The  cabinet  stood  near  a 
small  window  in  my  bedroom.  I  was  very  un- 
well that  winter,  and  therefore  a  fire  was  kept  up 
in  my  room  night  and  day.  Therefore  the  room 
was  very  warm,  and  I  suppose  that  the  little 
butterflies  were  deceived  thereby,  and  thought  or 
dreamed  that  summer  smiled  upon  the  earth  ; 
for,  a  few  days  after  Christmas,  to  my  astonish- 
ment and  delight,  a  little  yellow  butterfly  was 
seen  fluttering  feebly  within  the  cabinet. 

"  My  attention  was  first  diverted  to  the  cabinet 
by  the  playful  gambols  of  a  pet  pussy,  who  had 
mounted  on  a  chair,  and  stood  upon  its  hind  legs, 
pawing  at  the  little  creature  through  the  glass. 
I  soon  sent  pussy  away,  opened  the  cabinet,  and 
tried  to  induce  the  butterfly  to  alight  on  my  hand. 
But  it  was  either  dazzled  and  bewildered  at  find- 
ing itself  in  its  new  and  extended  sphere  of  ex- 
istence, or  had  already  learned  the  fear  of  man  ; 
for  at  the  approach  of  my  hand  it  flew  wildly 
about,  and  finally  settled  down  as  if  exhausted. 

"I  now  became  most  anxious  to  feed  the  little 
thing ;  but  how  this  was  to  be  achieved  I  had  not 
the  slightest  idea,  nor  could  any  one  in  the  house 
advise  or  help  me  in  this  important  matter. 
Moreover,  I  was  loudly  ridiculed  for  the  bare 
idea  of  trying  to  tame  and  feed  butterflies. 

"However,  I  remember  that  the  poets  all  agreed 
in  saying  that  butterflies  sipped  nectar  from  the 
opening  flowers,  and  therefore  turned  my  atten- 
tion to  the  manufacture  of  a  substitute  for  nectar ; 
so,  having  obtained  some  honey,  which  I  diluted 
with  rose-water,  I  put  one  drop  into  the  centre 
of  the  open  blossoms  of  a  fairy  rose,  and  placed 
the  little  plant  in  the  cabinet.  I  soon  had  the  joy 
of  seeing  the  little  thing  flutter  around  the  rose, 
and  finally  settle  upon  it. 

"Whether  it  really  drank  or  not,  I  can  not 
say.  I  thought  that  it  must  have  done  so,  as  it 
appeared  to  grow  stronger  and  more  lively  every 
day.  I  fed  it  in  this  manner  for  a  fortnight ; 
and  by  the  end  of  that  time  it  became  so  tame 
that  it  would  step  off  the  flower  or  any  thing  else 
'on  which  it  might  be  standing,  and  appear  quite 
happy  and  at  rest  upon  my  hand. 

"It  also  appeared  to  understand  that  I  wished 
it  to  come  to  me  when  I  called  it  by  the  name  of 
'  Psyche,'  that  being  the  name  which  I  had  given 
to  the  insect. 

"  About  three  weeks  after  the  advent  of 
Psyche  we  were  gladdened  by  the  addition  of 
another  butterfly  to  our  establishment — a  pea- 
cock. He  was  strong  and  vigorous  from  the 
first,  and  flitted  swiftly  about,  like  a  beam  of 
prismatic  light.  I  used  to  fancy  that  they  talked 


to  each  other,  as  he  at  once  fell  int 

and   habits   of  the   othe 

Psyche,  he  too  would  come.     I  gave  him  another 

name,  but  he  never  seemed  to  understand  that  it 

belonged  to  him. 

"They  lived  in  this  way  until  the  earth  had 
donned  her  glowing  summer  robe  of  lilies  and 
roses,  when  I  was  told  that  their  life-power  could 
only  extend  over  a  month  or  two,  and  that  it  was 
cruel  even  to  keep  them  as  happy  prisoners.  I 
was  therefore  induced  to  give  them  their  liberty. 
The  cabinet  was  placed  with  open  doors  before 
the  window. 

"  It  was  many  days  before  the  butterflies  vent- 
ured to  leave  the  window-sill,  and  this  much  to 
my  joy,  for  I  thought  that  it  might  be  affection 
for  me  that  held  them  back.  However,  one  day, 
with  many  bitter  tears,  I  saw  them  depart  and 
join  some  wild  companions ;  but  at  night  we 
found  them  again  in  the  cabinet. 

"On  the  following  morning  they  left  us,  and 
came  not  back  again  until  the  cold  and  stormy 
September  weather  set  in. 

"Yet,  when  in  the  garden,  they  would  come 
if  I  called  them,  and  rest  for  a  short  time  on  my 
hair  or  hands.  At  length,  on  a  cold,  windy  day 
in  September,  we  saw  them  on  the  window-sill, 
and,  on  our  opening  the  window,  they  came  in 
and  resumed  possession  of  their  old  quarters,  and 
abode  there  for  the  winter. 

"It  is  true  they  were  but  poor-looking  objects 
to  what  they  were  when  they  went  forth.  The 
world  seemed  to  have  used  them  rather  roughly, 
for  the  sheen  had  gone  from  the  rich  wings  of 
the  peacock  butterfly,  and  the  soft  yellow  bloom 
from  Psyche's  plumage.  Nevertheless  they  were 
welcome  guests ;  and,  though  ragged  and  way- 
worn, were  not  the  less  loved. 

"We  observed  that  during  this  winter  they 
slept  more  than  they  did  formerly.  They  also 
manifested  pleasure  when  sung  or  talked  to,  and 
were  very  fond  of  being  waved  about  and  danced 
up  and  down  in  the  air,  while  they  would  sit  upon 
the  hand  quite  calmly.  I  think  that  the  move- 
ment must  have  reminded  them  of  the  nodding 
flowers  and  fresh  breezes  of  their  summer  life. 

"The  sun  and  earth  ran  their  appointed  course 
until  they  brought  us  to  another  bright  June,  and 
again  I  bestowed  the  boon  of  freedom  on  our  fairy 
pets,  who  went  forth  gayly ;  but,  alas !  never  to 
return.  One  day,  after  a  heavy  thunder-storm, 
we  found  the  inanimate  form  of  a  yellow  butterfly 
upon  the  window-sill.  I  took  it  up  lovingly,  and 
did  my  best  to  revive  it ;  for  I  believed  it  to  be 
the  material  form  of  my  own  beautiful  Psyche, 
who  had  sought  refuge  from  the  storm,  but  found 
the  window  closed.  (Jf  this  I  can  not  be  sure, 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


for  all  our  efforts  to  restore  her  were  in  vain. 
The  wondrous  essence  that  had  given  it  life, 
beauty,  motion,  affection,  and  memory  had  re- 
turned to  the  hand  of  its  mighty  Creator ;  and 
with  him  let  it  rest. 

"The  peacock  butterfly  never  returned: 
whether  he  fell  a  victim  to  that  aerial  shark,  the 
dragon-fly,  or  died  of  age,  sickness,  or  forgot  his 
early  friends,  I  know  not. 

"I  have  since  tried  to  tame  other  butterflies, 
but  never  was  so  successful,  although  I  have 
taught  three  or  four  to  know  me  and  to  come  at 
my  call.  Indeed,  circumstances  have  never  been 
so  favorable ;  for  I  never  had  any  other  butter- 
flies in  their  chrysalis  state,  nor  have  a  room  and 
a  cabinet  been  ready  to  receive  them." 

There  are  one  or  two  points  to  be  noticed  in 
connection  with  this  story.  The  first  is,  that  the 
narrator,  as  she  says,  knew  nothing  of  entomolo- 
gy. She  was  not  aware  that  the  yellow  butter- 
fly was  our  common  "brimstone,"  and  the  so- 
called  peacock  butterfly  was  in  reality  a  "small 
tortoise-shell,"  these  being  the  earliest  and  the 
hardiest  of  British  butterflies,  the. "  brim-stone  " 
being  almost  invariably  the  first  butterfly  to  be 
seen,  while  the  "small  tortoise-shell"  follows  it 
after  a  short  interval.  I  was  much  puzzled  at 
the  description  as  given  in  writing,  and  it  was 
only  by  getting  a  description  of  the  so-called 
"peacock"  butterfly  viva  voce  that  I  was  able  to 
identify  the  insect.  She  did  not  know  how  a 
butterfly  fed  itself.  She  knew  nothing  of  the  hi- 
bernation of  these  insects,  and  yet  if  a  practiced 
entomologist  had  written  the  story,  it  could  not 
have  been  more  accurate  in  these  scientific  de- 
tails. 

But  if  the  reviewer  will  not  believe  the  account 
written  by  a  lady,  although  authenticated  by  my- 
self, he  may  believe  Sir  John  Lubbock's  account 
of  a  far  more  difficult  task,  namely,  the  successful 
taming  of  a  wasp.  Here  is  the  story  in  his  own 
words : 

"DEAR  SIR, — In  answer  to  j'our  inquiries,  I 
beg  to  send  you  the  following  particulars  about 
my  poor  wasp : 

"I  took  it,  with  its  nest,  in  the  Pyrenees  last 
May.  The  nest,  which  was  beautifully  regular, 
consisted  of  about  twenty  cells,  the  majority  of 
which  contained  an  egg ;  but  as  yet  no  grub  had 
been  hatched  out,  and,  of  course,  my  wasp  was 
as  yet  alone  in  the  world. 

"  I  had  no  difficulty  in  inducing  her  to  feed  on 
my  hand ;  but  at  first  she  was  shy  and  nervous : 
she  kept  her  sting  in  constant  readiness,  and  once 
or  twice  in  the  train,  when  the  official  came  for 
tickets,  and  I  was  compelled  to  hurry  her  back 


into  her  bottle,  she  stung  me  slightly — I  think, 
however,  entirely  from  fright. 

"  Gradually  she  became  quite  used  to  me,  and, 
when  I  took  her  on  my  hand,  evidently  expected 
to  be  fed.  She  allowed  me  to  stroke  her  without 
any  appearance  of  fear,  and  for  some  months  I 
never  saw  her  sting. 

"  When  the  cold  weather  came  on,  she  fell  into 
a  drowsy  state,  and  I  began  to  hope  she  would 
hibernate  and  survive  the  winter.  I  kept  her  in 
a  dark  place,  but  watched  her  carefully,  and  fed 
her  if  ever  she  seemed  at  all  restless. 

"She  came  out  occasionally,  and  seemed  as 
well  as  usual  till  near  the  end  of  February,  when 
one  day  I  observed  that  she  had  nearly  lost  the 
use  of  her  antennae,  though  the  rest  of  her  body 
was  as  usual.  She  would  take  no  food.  Next 
day  I  tried  again  to  feed  her ;  but  the  head  seem- 
ed dead,  though  she  could  still  move  her  legs, 
wings,  and  abdomen.  The  following  day  I  offer- 
ed her  food  for  the  last  time,  but  both  head  and 
thorax  were  dead  or  paralyzed ;  she  could  but 
wag  her  tail — a  last  token,  as  I  could  almost  fan- 
cy, of  gratitude  and  affection.  As  far  as  I  could 
judge,  her  death  was  quite  painless ;  and  she  now 
occupies  a  place  in  the  British  Museum. " 

The  reader  will  see  that,  in  both  these  exam- 
ples of  tamed  insects  memory  was  absolutely  in- 
dispensable, and  that  without  the  existence  of 
this  faculty  it  would  have  been  impossible  to  in- 
fluence them  with  human  ideas. 

As  to  the  wasps,  the  late  Mr.  Stone,  who  had 
made  them  his  special  study,  told  me  a  portion 
of  these  insects'  life -history  which  proves  the 
existence  of  memory.  We  were  speaking  of  the 
"homing"  faculty  of  various  animals,  especial- 
ly pigeons,  bees,  and  wasps,  and  were  debating 
whether  the  faculty  were  due  to  instinct  or  rea- 
son. Mr.  Stone  gave  his  decided  opinion  that 
all  those  creatures  were  guided  by  reason,  the  in- 
sects as  well  as  the  birds. 

He  said  that  any  one  who  was  accustomed  to 
the  ways  of  these  insects  could  tell  by  the  man- 
ner in  which  a  wasp  left  the  nest  whether  it  were 
an  old  or  a  young  one.  An  old  wasp  crawls  to 
the  entrance  of  the  nest,  and  at  once  darts  off 
without  any  ceremony.  A  young  one,  however, 
when  going  out  on  its  first  expedition,  acts  in  a 
very  different  manner.  When  it  has  emerged 
from  the  entrance,  it  turns  round  and  examines 
the  spot ;  it  then  takes  to  wing,  but  flies  back- 
ward and  forward  in  front  of  the  nest,  and  al- 
ways looking  toward  it  as  if  taking  notes  of  the 
bearings,  and  gradually  increasing  its  distance 
until  it  is  out  of  sight. 

Here,  then,  is  a  distinct  exercise  of  memory  as 
well  as  of  reason,  the  creature  impressing  on  its 


MEMORY. 


63 


mind  the  appearance  of  the  objects  near  its  nest, 
and  acting  on  the  result  of  those  impressions. 
Human  beings  act  in  just  the  same  way  when 
traversing  for  the  first  time  a  locality  through 
which  they  will  have  to  return.  And  yet,  as  I 
have  already  stated,  the  wasp  has  no  true  brains. 

Mr.  Stone  remarked  that  he  has  seen  bees  act 
in  a  similar  manner  when  their  hive  has  been 
moved  to  a  spot  at  any  distance  from  that  which 
it  formerly  occupied. 

We  will  now  pass  to  some  of  the  higher  ani- 
mals, taking,  first,  one  or  two  examples  of  creat- 
ures that  are  not  usually  subject  to  domestica- 
tion, and  can  therefore  have  received  no  teaching 
by  means  of  their  parentage. 

By  means  of  this  faculty  almost  any  living  be- 
ing is  able  to  be  taught  by  man,  while,  if  mem- 
ory were  absent,  no  teaching  would  be  of  the  very 
slightest  use.  The  mole,  for  example,  seems  to 
be  about  as  difficult  a  subject  as  can  well  be  im- 
agined, and  yet  I  knew  of  one  case  where  a  mole 
was  perfectly  domesticated,  and  another  in  which 
it  was  partially  tame. 

The  former  was  a  specimen  of  the  albino,  or 
white  mole,  a  variety  which  is  tolerably  common. 
It  was  living  at  St.  Malo,  in  1856,  and  the  story 
of  its  life  was  told  to  me  in  1857. 

It  knew  its  name,  would  come  to  its  master 
when  called,  and  had  learned  to  perform  some 
little  tricks :  for  example,  when  told  to  do  so,  it 
would  tumble  over  on  the  table,  and  would  fetch 
coins  if  they  were  scattered  within  its  reach. 
The  animal  had  a  curious  preference  for  silver 
over  copper  coins,  probably  because  the  sensitive 
nerves  of  the  mole  were  affected  by  the  copper. 
It  always  ran  faster,  and  seemed  more  pleased 
when  it  had  a  silver  coin  in  its  mouth  than  when 
it  had  been  dispatched  after  a  copper  coin.  What 
it  might  have  done  in  .these  days  of  the  light 
bronze  coinage,  I  do  not  know. 

The  second  example  of  a  tame  mole  was  one 
of  the  common  brown  animals,  which  had  got 
into  a  garden,  and  was  doing  much  damage. 
The  gardener,  being  practical  and  not  sesthetic- 
al  in  his  tastes,  did  his  best  to  kill  the  mole ;  but 
the  inhabitants  of  the  house,  being  aesthetical 
rather  than  practical,  tried  to  tame  the  animal, 
in  which  they  partly  succeeded. 

The  aperture  by  which  the  mole  usually  came 
into  the  open  air  was  situated  under  a  sage-bush, 
and  near  the  opening  a  piece  of  raw  meat  was 
laid.  The  delicate  organs  of  the  mole  soon  per- 
ceived the  supply  of  food,  and  the  animal,  after 
he  had  finished  his  meal,  came  to  look  for  some 
more.  This  was  given  him,  accompanied  by  the 
sound  of  his  name,  "Barty,"  an  abbreviation  of 


Bartimeus.  Sometimes  the  mole  was  too  far 
away  from  the  aperture  to  hear  his  name,  and  in 
these  cases  a  measured  stamp  upon  the  ground 
was  sure  to  bring  him  to  his  meal. 

Here  is  an  instance  of  the  influence  of  memory 
upon  an  animal  which  is  not  often  tamed,  and 
which  in  this  case  happened  to  be  a  peculiarly 
fierce  and  sullen  individual. 

Some  years  ago  I  was  a  constant  visitor  to  the 
Zoological  Gardens,  and  used  to  make  acquaint- 
ance with  the  various  animals  as  far  as  they  would 
allow  me  to  do  so. 

One  day  I  was  struck  with  the  beauty  of  a  very 
large  and  beautiful  ocelot,  or  tiger-cat ;  but  the 
animal  seemed  to  be  a  new-comer,  and  was  very 
wary  and  fierce,  declining  to  respond  to  any  over- 
tures that  were  made.  At  last,  when  standing 
by  the  cage  on  a  hot  summer's  day,  I  thought 
that  I  saw  a  mode  of  getting  at  the  animal's 
feelings.  The  place  quite  swarmed  with  flies, 
mostly  blue-bottles,  a  few  of  which  occasionally 
got  inside  the  bars  of  the  cages.  Seeing  the  oce- 
lot try  to  catch  one  of  the  flies,  I  captured  a  fine 
large  blue-bottle,  and  held  it  close  to  the  bars  so 
as  to  make  it  buzz,  and  waited  quietly.  After  a 
while  the  ocelot  came  cautiously  up,  and,  after 
one  or  two  feints,  took  the  insect  and  ate  it.  I 
immediately  caught  another,  and  offered  it  in  the 
same  way,  giving  a  low  whistle  at  the  time.  This 
time  the  ocelot  took  it  without  much  difficulty, 
and  in  half  an  hour  or  so  he  came  at  once  to  the 
whistle,  and  took  the  fly. 

On  the  next  visit  I  repeated  the  proceedings, 
the  ocelot  perfectly  recognizing  me ;  and  after 
one  or  two  visits,  the  beautiful  creature  would 
press  itself  against  the  bars  to  be  caressed,  and 
to  have  its  nose  and  chin  rubbed,  just  as  does  a 
favorite  cat.  The  keeper  happened  to  come  in 
while  I  was  talking  to  the  ocelot,  and  was  quite 
alarmed,  saying  that  even  he  did  not  dare  to  trust 
his  fingers  between  the  bars.  Now  the  keepers 
are  specially  kind  and  gentle  toward  the  animals 
under  their  charge,  and  can  do  wonders  with  the 
fiercest  of  animals ;  so  that  for  a  keeper  to  be  un- 
able to  trust  his  hand  in  a  cage,  shows  the  feroc- 
ity of  the  animal  confined  in  it.  I  fully  believe 
that  in  this,  as  in  most  other  cases  where  an  an- 
imal is  ferocious,  fear,  and  not  ill -temper,  is  the 
real  cause  of  its  conduct. 

The  following  account  of  a  tame  water-hen 
was  sent  to  me  by  the  owner  of  the  house— a 
lady  well  known  in  the  literary  world : 

"Some  five  or  six  winters  ago  two  water-hens 
made  their  appearance  in  the  mountain  brook 
which  runs  through  our  lawn,  and  were  con- 


64 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


stantly  to  be  seen  upon  the  grass.  One  was 
larger  than  the  other,  of  a  deeper  color,  and  we 
supposed  them  to  be  a  pair.  The  winter  was 
exceptionally  severe ;  there  was  more  snow  than 
usual,  and  when  it  melted  the  smaller  of  the 
two  was  found  dead.  The  other  remained  until 
March,  when  it  disappeared.  During  its  stay  it 
had  learned  to  come  toward  the  dining-room 
window  while  the  pea-fowl  were  being  fed,  and, 
if  food  were  thrown  to  a  little  distance,  would 
pick  it  up. 

"The  second  week  in  the  October  following  it 
again  made  its  appearance,  and  remained  through 
the  winter,  becoming  tamer  every  day.  At  last, 
whenever  it  heard  the  window  opened,  it  would 
hasten,  half  running,  half  flying,  to  be  fed.  Ev- 
ery year  it  has  appeared  and  disappeared  with 
as  much  regularity  as  the  swallows,  and  always 
about  the  same  day  of  the  same  month.  Now  as 
soon  as  it  arrives  it  is  perfectly  tame,  and  comes 
running  up  as  soon  as  the  sound  of  the  opening 
window  is  heard. 

"I  always  feel  sorry  when  the  time  of  its 
departure  arrives,  and  gladly  welcome  its  return. 
It  has  never  had  a  companion,  but  it  must  leave 
for  the  purpose  of  getting  a  mate.  Yet  it  never 
brings  one  here,  nor  have  I  ever  seen  another 
water-hen  within  miles  of  this  place." 

Here  is  a  good  example  of  memory  in  the 
case  of  a  domesticated  bird : 

"Our  noble  yellow -crested  cockatoo  was  the 
especial  pet  of  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  house. 
The  young  lady  married  an  officer,  and  was  ab- 
sent from  the  old  house  for  nearly  three  years. 
Her  anticipated  advent  on  a  visit  to  her  father 
was  of  course  talked  about,  and  we  may  imagine 
the  cockatoo  pricked  up  her  ears  at  the  sound  of 
her  name.  The  moment  the  carriage  stopped  at 
the  door  she  flew  down  from  her  perch,  and,  be- 
fore mamma  or  sister  could  greet  her  arrival,  was 
outside  the  front  door  with  '  Kiss  me,  my  dear ; 
kiss  me,  Sa ;  kiss  me,  Sa.'  " 

Why  it  should  be  I  can  not  tell,  but  our  do- 
mestic poultry  are  sadly  neglected  in  the  way  of 
human  education ;  and  yet  that  they  are  perfect- 
ly capable  of  receiving  it,  if  properly  given,  I  am 
quite  sure,  having  seen  many  instances  in  which 
poultry  of  various  kinds  have  preferred  the  com- 
panionship of  man  to  that  of  their  own  kind.  I 
knew  personally  a  chicken  and  a  duck  who  en- 
tirely repudiated  their  proper  companions  and 
domicile,  preferring  men  to  birds,  and  the  draw- 
ing-room to  the  poultry-yard.  The  chicken  had 
been  an  ailing  little  creature ;  and  being  careful- 
ly tended  until  its  restoration  to  health,  attached 


itself  vehemently  to  its  nurse,  and  used  to  follow 
her  over  the  house,  calling  her  anxiously  until 
seated  in  her  lap.  I  shall  presently  have  to  tell 
several  anecdotes  of  poultry,  but  under  a  differ- 
ent heading,  so  confine  myself  to  one  which  was 
sent  to  me  by  the  chief  actor : 

"I  am  no  poultry- fancier,  being  perfectly  ig- 
norant of  the  distinction  between  Brahmas,  Co- 
chins, etc.  We  have  only  a  few  fancy  bantams. 

"  During  the  last  illness  of  a  favorite  riding- 
horse  I  was  a  frequent  visitor  to  her  stable ;  and 
one  wintry  morning,  after  a  snow-storm,  one  of 
these  tiny  bantams  looked  so  cold  and  pitiful  that 
I  put  it  on  my  hat,  and  thus  transferred  it  to  the 
warm  stable.  I  never  could  find  much  intelli- 
gence in  the  poultry  tribe;  but  this  little  bird, 
which  I  named  '  Jemmy, '  found  the  climate  of  the 
stable  so  enjoyable  that,  in  order  to  obtain  an  en- 
trance, it  watched  my  visits,  always  flying  up  to 
my  hat  directly  I  approached. 

"  Mimicry  is  the  gift  of  monkeys,  but  I  know 
that  fowls  are  endowed  with  it.  Jemmy  had 
some  little  brothers  and  sisters,  who  followed  his 
example.  Not  wishing  to  accommodate  the  whole 
family  on  my  hat,  I  made  it  my  custom  to  push 
the  others  off.  Once,  by  mistake,  I  pushed  off 
Jemmy,  who  made  me  aware  of  the  fact  by  a 
great  cacophony,  and  resented  my  unintentional 
rudeness  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was  many  days 
before  I  could  obtain  his  forgiveness,  and  induce 
him  to  resume  his  high  position.  Once  I  entered 
while  wearing  a  bonnet :  his  efforts  to  obtain  his 
usual  comfortable  footing  were  most  absurd,  and 
at  last  he  descended  in  great  disgust  at  the  alter- 
ation." 

As  for  anecdotes  of  the  domesticated  animals, 
such  as  the  dog,  the  cat,  the  horse,  and  the  ass, 
there  are  so  many  that  I  am  obliged  to  restrict 
myself  to  a  very  few.  Indeed,  every  one  who  has 
had  personal  experience  of  these  animals  must 
have  remarked  the  great  strength  and  endurance 
of  their  powers  of  memory. 

The  following  story  is  by  the  late  Rev.  Caesar 
Otway,  and  is  told  in  his  lecture  on  the  "Intel- 
lectuality of  the  Domestic  Animals:" 

"I  shall  tell  you  what  I  know  of  an  ass. 
There  is  a  lady  resident  in  a  parish  where  I  was 
for  some  years  minister.  She  is  the  most  ten- 
der-hearted of  the  human  race ;  her  tenderness, 
though  a  general  feeling,  is  principally  confined 
to  the  lower  animals.  I  am  disposed  to  think 
that  if  in  India  or  Turkey,  she  would  leave  all  her 
worldly  goods  to  endow  a  hospital  for  deserted, 
disowned,  and  abused  animals. 

"Well,  this  lady  was  walking  along  the  road, 


MEMORY. 


65 


and  she  met  a  train  of  tinsers  proceeding  toward 
Connaught,  and  one  tall,  tan-skinned,  black-hair- 
ed, curly-polled  fellow,  in  all  the  excited  cruelty 
of  drunkenness,  was  belaboring  his  ass's  sides  with 
a  blackthorn  cudgel.  This  was  too  much  for  my 
friend.  She  first  rated  the  man  for  his  barbarity : 
she  might  as  well  have  scolded  Beelzebub.  She 
then  coaxed  the  ruffian,  and  asked  him  if  he  would 
sell  the  creature,  which  he  consented  at  once  to 
do,  asking,  of  course,  three  times  the  proper  price. 
You  may  judge  of  the  joy  of  this  amiable  woman 
when  the  beast,  now  her  own,  was  relieved  from 
its  panniers,  allowed  to  roll  about  in  the  dust, 
and  graze  at  liberty. 

' '  For  a  long  time  she  kept  him  perfectly  idle, 
until  he  recovered  his  spirits ;  then  he  became 
troublesome,  and  would  break  his  bonds,  and 
used  to  go  a-braying  and  curveting,  and  seeking 
for  asinine  society  all  over  the  country.  Idleness 
is  certainly,  after  all,  a  bad  thing  for  asses  as  well 
as  men,  and  so  this  capricious  fellow  found  it ; 
for  shortly  a  tinker,  perhaps  the  very  one  that 
sold  it,  stole  it,  and  for  three  or  four  years  there 
were  no  tidings  of  the  ass,  until  one  day,  as  his 
kind  mistress  was  taking  her  usual  walk  along  the 
road,  she  saw  a  man  urging  along  an  ass  strain- 
ing and  bending  under  a  very  heavy  cart. 

"Now  the  moment  my  friend  came  near  there 
was  an  alteration  in  the  deportment  of  the  ass ; 
immediately  the  ears  that  were  but  just  now 
hanging  listlessly  over  its  eyes  were  cocked,  and 
its  head  elevated  in  the  air ;  and,  raising  its  voice 
more  like  a  laugh  than  a  bray,  it  urged  itself  un- 
der its  heavy  load  into  a  trot,  and  came  and  laid 
its  snout  on  the  shoulders  of  the  lady,  who  at 
once,  and  not  until  now,  recognized  her  long-lost 
property,  which  she  had  again  to  purchase  at  a 
high  price.  It  is  many  years  since  that  occurred ; 
the  beast  is  alive,  and  so  is  the  lady.  I  hope  it 
won't  be  her  lot  to  see  in  it  that  rare  spectacle,  a 
dead  ass." 

An  adventure  of  a  nearly  similar  nature  oc- 
curred to  the  gentleman  who  furnished  the  ac- 
count of  the  miller's  dog  at  Maxwellheugh,  and 
who  has  kindly  taken  a  great  interest  in  the  ob- 
ject of  this  work : 

"When  I  was  a  boy,  my  father  bought  from 
a  neighboring  fanner  a  gray  Galloway  pony, 
who  was  very  vicious  to  all  with  whom  he  came 
in  contact  except  myself.  The  way  in  which  I 
acquired  so  much  power  over  him  was  by  feeding 
him  with  bread,  and  showing  him  other  acts  of 
kindness. 

"  Some  years  afterward  I  left  home,  and  when 
I  returned  to  my  father's  house  I  found  that 
*  Donald '  had  been  sold,  and  that  all  trace  of  him 
E 


had  been  lost  for  about  seventeen  years.  At  that 
period,  being  resident  in  a  village  in  a  neighbor- 
ing county,  I  saw  an  old  white  horse  in  a  cart, 
and  thinking  that  it  might  be  the  same  animal,  I 
went  up  to  him  in  the  same  way  as  I  used  to  do 
in  boyhood,  and  said,  '  Donald.'  He  immediate- 
ly turned  his  head  to  me,  laid  it  on  my  shoulder, 
pawed  the  ground,  rubbed  his  nose  upon  my  arm, 
and  showed  the  greatest  possible  affection. 

"The  driver  of  the  cart  came  out  of  a  shop, 
and  warned  me  to  keep  away  from  the  horse  or 
he  would  bite  me.  I  moved  up  the  street,  when 
Donald  became  restive,  wrenched  the  reins  out 
of  the  lad's  hands,  followed  me  along  the  street, 
and  it  was  not  until  I  entered  a  house  that,  after 
much  difficulty,  he  was  induced  to  move  away." 

This  is  a  really  wonderful  act  of  memory  on 
the  part  of  the  horse,  and  not  at  all  a  bad  one  on 
the  part  of  the  man ;  and  the  incident  affords  a 
direct  proof  that  memory  is  a  common  possession 
of  man  and  beast.  That  the  man  should  recog- 
nize the  animal  which  he  loved  in  his  boyhood 
was  a  tolerably  fair  exercise  of  memory;  but 
that  the  horse  should  recognize  the  man  is  even 
more  astonishing.  From  boyhood  to  manhood, 
the  lapse  of  seventeen  years  makes  such  changes 
in  personal  appearance  that,  as  a  rule,  the  man 
of  thirty  can  scarcely  be  recognized  even  by  those 
who  knew  him  well  as  a  boy  of  thirteen.  Nor 
can  the  voice  give  any  help  in  recognition,  for 
the  deep  tones  of  the  manly  voice  are  as  unlike 
the  shrill  sounds  of  a  boy's  "treble  pipe"  as  is 
the  bearded  face  of  the  man  to  the  smooth  cheek 
of  the  boy. 

Dress  also  makes  a  great  difference  in  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  human  being ;  and  when  we  con- 
sider that  the  dress  of  a  man  is  quite  unlike  that 
of  a  boy,  we  must  appreciate  the  strength  of 
memory  which  enables  the  horse  to  recognize  his 
friend  in  spite  of  so  many  alterations. 

Anecdotes  of  a  similar  character  are  plentiful, 
and  even  the  wild  beasts  are  known  to  remember 
a  human  friend  after  a  long  lapse  of  years.  In 
Hardwicke's  Science  Gossip  of  October,  1871, 
there  is  an  account  by  Mr.  W.  W.  Spicer  of  a 
wolf  at  the  Zoological  Gardens  at  Clifton  with 
which  he  struck  up  a  friendship.  He  was  forced 
to  leave  Clifton  for  some  two  years,  and  on  his 
return  went  to  see  his  friend  : 

"  I  at  once  set  to  work  to  test  the  wolf's  affec- 
tion and  retentiveness  of  memory  by  whistling  in 
a  low  tone  at  as  great  a  distance  from  the  den 
as  allowed  my  watching  its  movements.  At  the 
first  sound,  the  animal,  which  before  was  *  loafing ' 
about  in  a  listless  manner,  raised  its  head  and 
listened ;  and  on  my  continuing  to  whistle,  it 


66 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


bounded  against  the  bars  with  every  mark  of 

joy. 

"  Long  before  I  reached  the  cage  he  recognized 
my  footsteps,  and  strove  to  engage  my  attention 
by  whining  and  throwing  himself  into  all  kinds  of 
queer  positions.  My  welcome,  in  fact,  was  of  the 
warmest  kind,  and  I  left  him  with,  I  was  going  to 
say,  mutual  expressions  of  sincere  regret ;  for  if 
ever  an  animal  gave  expression  to  its  feelings,  it 
was  this  poor  wolf,  who  recognized  me  after  so 
long  an  absence." 

These  anecdotes  fully  corroborate  the  opinion 
which  I  have  always  held  with  regard  to  the 
relationship  between  man  and  beast.  The  latter 
was  intended  to  serve  the  former,  and  there  is 
nothing  in  the  hands  of  man  half  so  powerful  in 
educating  the  lower  animals  as  thoughtful  kind- 
ness. Inflexible  decision,  combined  with  gentle- 
ness and  sympathy,  are  irresistible  weapons  in  the 
hand  of  man ;  and  I  do  not  believe  that  there  is 
any  animal  which  can  not  be  subdued  if  the  right 
man  undertakes  the  task.  By  this  mixture  of 
firmness  and  kindness  that  raging  wild  beast  of 
a  horse,  "Cruiser,"  was  in  three  hours  rendered 
gentle  and  subservient,  obeying  the  least  sign  of 
his  conqueror,  and  allowing  himself  to  be  freely 
handled  without  displaying  the  least  resentment. 

I  once  saw  Mr.  Karey  operate  on  a  splendid 
little  black  Arab  horse  that  flew  like  a  tiger  at 
him,  kicking,  biting,  and  screaming  at  once,  now 
attacking  with  his  jaws,  and  now  with  his  heels. 
He  might  as  well  have  attacked  his  own  shad- 
ow ;  for,  just  as  the  Spanish  bull-fighter  absolutely 
plays  with  the  furious  beast  in  the  circus,  so  Rarey 
seemed  to  play  with  the  animal,  stepping  quickly 
on  one  side  as  it  made  its  rush  with  open  mouth, 
and  then,  as  it  spun  round  and  lashed  out  with 
its  heels,  being  on  one  side,  just  out  of  reach. 

Within  half  an  hour  Rarey  and  the  horse  were 
lying  together  on  the  ground,  Rarey's  head  rest- 
ing on  one  of  the  hind  hoofs,  and  the  other  hoof 
being  laid  on  his  temple.  He  then  got  up,  mount- 
ed the  animal,  dismounted  by  sliding  over  its 
tail,  and  finally,  with  hands  in  his  pockets,  ran 
round  the  circus,  the  horse's  nose  resting  on  his 
shoulder.  He  had  impressed  upon  the  animal's 
memory  that  no  harm  was  intended  ;  and  so  the 
horse,  instead  of  feeling  fear  and  anger,  conceived 
an  affection  for  the  man  who  inflicted  no  pain, 
and  yet  showed  that  he  must  obeyed. 

The  following  anecdote  of  a  cat  demonstrates 
several  traits  of  character  which  are  common  both 
to  man  and  beast.  I  was  rather  doubtful  under 
which  head  it  should  be  classed ;  but  as  it  illus- 
trates the  present  subject,  I  have  placed  it  here : 


"I  confess  myself  a  great  friend  and  admirer 
of  horses  and  dogs,  but  care  little  for  cats  in  gen- 
eral, although,  when  away  from  home  pets,  I  oft- 
en make  playthings  of  them.  Did  you  ever  know 
a  landlady  without  a  cat,  visible  or  invisible  ? 
We  had  rooms  in  Berkshire,  and  the  morning 
after  our  arrival,  on  entering  the  dining-room,  I 
saw  a  real,  visible  cat  sitting  on  our  breakfast-ta- 
ble, and  reducing  the  quantity,  if  not  the  quality, 
of  the  milk.  The  milk-pot  being  narrow  at  the 
lop,  she  obtained  it  by  putting  in  her  paw,  curl- 
ing it  round,  and  then  lapping  it  up.  (Animals 
are  never  afraid  of  me,  nor  do  I  wish  them  to  bo 
so.)  I  allowed  Puss  to  continue  her  depredation 
on  the  milk ;  we  breakfasted  without  it,  and  her 
theft  remained  unpunished. 

"After  we  had  been  there  some  time,  Puss 
listened  every  morning  until  I  rang  for  the  tea- 
kettle, which  she  always  accompanied  to  the 
break  fast- table.  One  morning  I  was  later  than 
usual,  and  while  dressing  I  was  surprised  to  hear 
the  cat  mewing  at  the  bedroom  door.  As  she 
had  not  before  done  so,  I  let  her  in,  with  the  re- 
mark, '  Puss  knows  I  am  late,  and  is  waiting  for 
her  breakfast.'  I  was,  however,  quite  mistaken  : 
she  was  too  ill  to  eat,  but  came  to  me  for  that  sym- 
pathy which  she  could  not  obtain  from  others. 
After  our  departure  no  one  cared  for  the  poor  an- 
imal ;  she  was  first  neglected,  and  then  killed  for 
being  delicate.  She  was  such  a  gentle  and  af- 
fectionate creature  that  I  would  have  taken  her 
to  my  own  home  if  I  had  known  her  impending 
fate." 

Here  are  several  mental  characteristics  exhib- 
ited by  the  same  animal.  Her  reason  taught  her 
to  get  the  milk  out  of  the  jug  with  her  paw  when 
she  could  not  reach  it  with  her  tongue.  I  know 
a  very  intellectual  cat,  the  grandmother  of  my 
own  lamented  "Pret,"  who  would  steal  bottled 
porter  in  the  same  way.  She  would  not  take 
milk,  but  porter  had  a  fascination  that  she  could 
not  withstand.  Then  this  cat's  memory  retain- 
ed the  recollection  of  kindly  treatment ;  and  so 
she  not  only  became  partaker  of  the  daily  meal, 
but  asked  and  obtained  loving  sympathy  when 
she  felt  herself  ill.  A  child  who  had  been  kind- 
ly treated  would  have  acted  iri  precisely  the  same 
manner. 

Another  instance  of  reasoning  and  memory 
brought  to  bear  on  sickness  has  been  communi- 
cated to  me  by  a  friend  : 

"As  illustrative  of  memory,  take  the  following 
anecdote :  A  pet  Blenheim  spaniel,  '  Fan, '  had 
had  two  or  three  litters.  At  the  birth  of  the 
third  or  fourth  family  (who  were  all  dead  born) 
she  was  extremely  ill  for  some  days,  refusing  ev- 


MEMORY. 


67 


ery  thing  in  the  shape  of  nourishment,  till  by  dint 
of  much  coaxing  and  petting  she  took  captain's 
biscuits,  and  lived  on  them  solely  till  quite  con- 
valescent. In  succeeding  accouchements  she  re- 
fused all  other  food  till  her  master  thought  of  the 
biscuits.  When  offered,  they  were  immediately 
eaten  with  avidity,  and  she  kept  to  that  particu- 
lar diet  forever  afterward  when  nursing. " 


In  all  these  examples  of  memory,  the  reader 
will  probably  have  remarked  that  there  must  be 
something  more  in  this  faculty  than  a  mere  pro- 
duction of  a  material  brain.  In  several  cases 
there  was  no  brain  at  all ;  and  in  others,  where  a 
brain  did  exist,  its  material  particles  must  have 
been  repeatedly  changed,  while  the  ideas  impress- 
ed upon  the  memory  still  remained  in  full  force. 


68 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


CHAPTER  VHI. 

GENEROSITY. 

Different  Senses  of  the  Word  Generosity.— Firstly :  the  Sense  of  Liberality.— Two  Grateful  Cats.— "Pret" 
and  his  Mice.— Pret  Entertaining  his  Friends.— Generosity  Before  Justice.— Another  Grateful  Cat— 
The  Cat  Providing  Mice  for  Two  Sea-gulls.— The  Retriever  "Nellie"  and  her  Cat  Friend — "Barbekark," 
the  Esquimau  Dog,  and  the  Reindeer.— His  Self-denial  and  Power  of  Command The  Generous  Spar- 
row.—Secondly  :  the  Sense  of  Magnanimity,  or  Indisposition  to  Resent  an  Injury,  though  Possessing  the 
Power  to  do  so.— Might  and  Mercy  Convertible  Terms.— Anecdote  of  Cribb,  the  Prize-fighter.— "Lupo" 
and  his  Little  Friends.— A  Dog  Fighting  Himself  into  Favor.— My  Bull-Dog  "Apollo"  and  the  Re- 
triever. 


IN  whatever  sense  we  take  the  word  which 
heads  this  chapter,  i.  e.,  whether  we  accept  it  as 
signifying  liberality  or  magnanimity,  the  quality 
is  acknowledged  to  be  a  very  lofty  one,  and  one 
which  infinitely  ennobles  the  characters  of  those 
who  possess  it. 

Take  the  former  sense  of  the  word. 

It  is,  in  fact,  an  attribute  of  God  himself,  who 
gives  us  freely  all  that  we  possess,  and  so  sets  us 
an  example  of  generosity  to  our  fellow-creatures. 
That  we  recognize  this  as  a  fact  is  shown  by  the 
extraordinary  number  of  disparaging  epithets  and 
nicknames  which  are  employed  in  designating 
those  human  beings  in  whom  generosity  is  more 
or  less  wanting.  Miser,  skinflint,  churl,  screw, 
muck- worm,  curmudgeon,  scrimp,  lick-penny,  etc. , 
are  among  the  nicknames  bestowed  upon  such  un- 
fortunate persons ;  while  among  the  epithets  are 
such  flowers  of  speech  as  stingy,  shabby,  mean, 
parsimonious,  hard-fisted,  sordid,  covetous,  nig- 
gardly, and  a  host  of  similar  terms  too  numerous 
to  mention. 

Now  if  it  be  admitted  that  the  possession  of 
generosity  ennobles  man's  character,  while  the 
lack  of  that  quality  debases  it,  we  ought  not  to 
deny  the  plain  inference  that  when  we  find  a 
beast  possessing  generosity,  and  a  man  devoid  of 
it,  the  beast  is  in-  that  particular  not  only  the 
equal  but  the  superior  of  the  man.  And  that 
generosity,  being  a  divine  attribute,  belongs  to 
the  spirit  and  not  to  the  body,  I  should  presume 
that  no  one  who  believes  in  Christianity  is  likely 
to  deny ;  so  that  wherever  we  find  this  charac- 
teristic developed  we  must  admit  the  presence  of 
an  immortal  spirit. 

I  will  now  produce  a  few  authenticated  anec- 
dotes in  order  to  prove  that  the  lower  animals  do 
possess  generosity  in  the  sense  of  liberality,  sev- 
eral of  the  circumstances  having  occurred  within 


my  own  observation,  and  the  others  being  authen- 
ticated with  the  names  of  the  writers. 

With  regard  to  the  sense  of  generosity  and 
gratitude  which  can  be  developed  in  the  cat,  the 
following  anecdote  was  related  to  me  by  a  friend 
of  the  owner  of  the  animal : 

The  cat  had  some  kittens,  and  one  of  them  was 
taken  ill,  and  was  apparently  in  a  dying  state. 
The  mother  did  all  that  she  could  for  it ;  and  then, 
finding  all  her  efforts  useless,  brought  the  sick 
kitten  to  her  mistress,  laid  it  in  her  lap,  and  left 
it  in  her  care.  The  lady  accepted  the  charge, 
nursed  the  kitten  through  its  illness,  and  at  last 
was  able  to  give  it  back  to  its  mother  quite  re- 
stored to  health. 

Some  time  afterward  the  lady  herself  was 
seized  with  illness,  and  was  unable  to  leave  her 
bed.  By  some  mysterious  means,  whether  by 
mere  instinct  or  by  gathering  the  meaning  of  the 
conversations  around  her,  the  cat  became  aware 
of  her  mistress's  illness.  Finding  herself  unable 
to  enter  the  room  by  the  door,  she  contrived  to 
climb  up  the  wall  of  the  house,  scrambled  in  at 
the  window,  jumped  on  the  bed,  and  laid  on  the 
pillow  a  mouse,  as  an  offering  of  affection  and 
gratitude. 

Since  I  began  to  write  this  book  I  have  re- 
ceived many  anecdotes  of  a  similar  character,  and 
in  nearly  all,  if  not  all  of  them,  gratitude  was 
the  existing  cause  of  the  animal's  generosity. 
Indeed,  I  could  easily  have  made  a  separate 
chapter  on  the  subject ;  but  not  wishing  to  mul- 
tiply chapters,  I  have  included  them  under  the 
present  heading.  Here  is  a  story  which  appeared 
in  Good  Words  for  December,  1873 : 

"A  cat  in  a  Swiss  cottage  had  taken  poison, 
and  came,  in  a  pitiful  state  of  pain,  to  seek  its 


GENEROSITY. 


69 


mistress's  help.  The  fever  and  heat  were  so 
great  that  it  dipped  its  own  paws  into  a  pan  of 
water — an  almost  unheard-of  proceeding  in  a 
water-hating  cat.  She  wrapped  it  in  wet  linen, 
fed  it  with  gruel,  nursed  it,  and  doctored  it  all  the 
day  and  night  after.  It  revived,  and  could  not 
find  ways  enough  to  show  its  gratitude.  One 
evening  she  had  gone  up-stairs  to  bed,  when  a 
mew  at  the  window  roused  her.  She  got  up  and 
opened  it,  and  found  the  cat,  which  had  climbed 
a  pear-tree  nailed  against  the  house,  with  a  mouse 
in  its  mouth  :  this  it  laid  as  an  offering  at  its  mis- 
tress's feet,  and  went  away. 

"  For  above  a  year  it  continued  to  bring  these 
tributes  to  her.  Even  when  it  had  kittens,  they 
were  not  allowed  to  touch  this  reserved  share  ; 
and  if  they  attempted  to  eat  it,  the  mother  gave 
them  a  little  tap — 'That  is  not  for  thee.'  After 
a  while,  however,  the  mistress  accepted  the  gift, 
thanked  the  giver  wifh  a  pleased  look,  and  re- 
stored the  mouse,  when  the  cat  permitted  her 
children  to  take  the  prey  which  had  served  its 
purpose  in  her  eyes. 

"  Here  was  a  refined  feeling  of  gratitude,  re- 
membered for  months  afterward,  quite  disinter- 
ested, and  placed  above  the  natural  instincts  (al- 
ways strong  in  a  cat)  toward  her  own  offspring." 

Urged  by  a  similar  feeling,  my  own  cat, 
"  Pret,"  used  invariably  to  give  his  mice  to  me. 

He  used  to  kill  the  animal  in  a  most  curious 
manner,  i.  e.,  by  taking  it,  while  quite  unhurt, 
by  the  tip  of  the  tail,  carrying  it  to  the  top  of 
the  house,  and  dropping  it  down  the  well  of  the 
staircase.  After  repeating  the  process  a  few 
times,  he  would  bring  the  mouse  to  me,  and  while 
I  stroked  and  praised  it,  would  keep  rubbing  him- 
self against  me  and  purring  his  content.  He  then 
took  the  mouse  again,  played  with  it  for  a  while, 
and  then  brought  it  back  to  me.  If  the  study 
door  were  closed,  and  he  could  not  gain  admit- 
tance, he  always  left  the  mouse  on  the  mat,  pre- 
viously having  bitten  off  the  animal's  head.  He 
had  a  strange  fancy,  also,  for  putting  the  mice 
into  my  bed ;  and  once,  on  leaving  my  room  in  the 
early  morning,  I  found  no  less  than  nine  mice 
laid  in  a  row  just  outside  the  door.  Afterward 
when  we  moved  into  the  country,  and  he  took  to 
catching  rats  instead  of  mice,  he  acted  in  precise- 
ly the  same  manner,  sometimes  bringing  me  three 
or  four  rats  in  a  single  day. 

Now  in  both  these  cases  the  motive  was  one 
that  would  show  credit  to  humanity.  There  is 
nothing  that  cats  like  so  well  as  a  mouse,  and  yet, 
just  because  they  thought  mice  the  most  precious 
object  in  the  world,  the  cats  gave  their  mice  to 
those  whom  they  loved.  Affection,  self-denial, 
generosity,  and  gratitude  were  thus  exemplified, 


all  being  qualities  which  of  necessity  belong  to 
the  spiritual  and  not  to  the  animal  nature. 

Pret  was  also  remarkable  for  generosity  toward 
his  own  kind.  An  example  of  this  trait  of  char- 
acter is  given  in  my  "  Glimpses  into  Petland," 
published  by  Messrs.  Bell  &  Daldy.  The  ani- 
mal was  then  living  in  London: 

"When  he  was  a  few  months  old  he  began 
to  scrape  acquaintance  with  other  cats,  and  used 
to  meet  them  in  a  back-yard,  which,  by  common 
consent  both  of  cats  and  householders,  seemed 
to  be  the  feline  club-house  of  the  neighborhood. 
Now  it  was  very  well  of  Pret  to  be  social  in  his 
habits,  but  when  he  took  to  hospitality  the  ques- 
tion became  serious. 

"  It  is  true  that  he  never  allowed  strange  cats, 
no  matter  how  big  they  might  be,  to  enter  the 
house ;  but  then  he  was  fond  of  entertaining  his 
friends  in  the  yard,  and  was  in  the  habit  of  bring- 
ing his  dinner  to  the  club  for  the  benefit  of  his 
acquaintances,  and  then  wanting  a  second  dinner 
on  his  own  account  in  the  evening.  He  even 
went  so  far  as  to  be  disgusted  with  the  meals  fur- 
nished to  a  neighboring  cat,  thinking  that  cat's 
meat  was  not  fit  for  feline  consumption.  Acting 
on  this  supposition,  he  was  seen  to  take  away 
the  cat's  meat  as  soon  as  it  was  brought  by  the 
itinerant  purveyor,  to  carry  it  into  the  cellar, 
bury  it  under  a  heap  of  small  coal,  and  to  take 
his  own  dinner  up-stairs  for  his  friend. 

"Even  these  proceedings  might  have  been 
pardoned ;  but  Pret's  generosity  developed  so 
rapidly  that  we  should  have  been  obliged  to  de- 
vise some  effectual  check,  had  not  a  removal  to 
another  house  put  an  end  to  the  acquaintance. 

"Finding  that  his  own  meals  were  not  suffi- 
cient to  entertain  his  friends  in  the  liberal  man- 
ner in  which  he  thought  himself  bound  to  act,  he 
took  to  ransacking  the  larder,  into  which  cham- 
ber he  contrived  to  gain  admission  in  spite  of 
many  precautions.  In  vain  did  we  keep  the 
doors  shut  and  the  windows  fastened,  so  as  to 
exclude  any  animal  larger  than  a  mouse,  for  Pret 
always  managed  to  enter  the  forbidden  precincts 
whenever  he  chose.  At  last  we  found  out  that 
he  achieved  the  feat  by  hiding  under  the  servant's 
dress,  and  stealthily  creeping  in  when  she  had  oc- 
casion to  visit  the  larder. 

"On  one  occasion  I  heard  an  odd  sort  of  a 
bumping  sound  on  the  stairs,  as  of  some  one 
who  was  dragging  up  a  burden  which  could  with 
difficulty  be  lifted.  On  going  to  investigate  the 
source  of  the  unwonted  sounds,!  found  that  they 
were  caused  by  Pret,  who  had  made  a  raid  on 
the  larder.  He  had  contrived  to  drag  out  of 
the  dish,  and  half-way  up-stairs,  the  entire  bone 
of  a  leg  of  mutton,  resting  on  each  step  in  order 


70 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


to  get  his  breath,  and  then  hauling  the  bone  up 
the  succeeding  step.  The  ant  pulling  a  stick 
over  rough  ground  presents  an  exact  resemblance 
to  Pret  dragging  the  heavy  bone  up-stairs." 

It  must  be  remembered  that  this  labor  was  not 
undertaken  for  his  own  selfish  purposes.  He  had 
not  the  least  idea  of  eating  the  meat  which  he 
was  carrying  off,  but  intended  to  give  it  all  to 
his  friends. 

An  anecdote,  curiously  similar  to  that  which 
has  been  related  of  two  cats,  has  just  been  sent 
to  me. 

There  was  a  cat  whose  kittens  had  been  res- 
cued from  danger  by  her  master,  to  whom  she 
formed  a  devoted  attachment.  During  his  last 
illness  she  never  left  his  room  except  for  the  pur- 
pose of  procuring  food,  and  even  then  she  ate  it 
hastily,  and  rushed  up-stairs  again  as  fast  as  pos- 
sible. One  day,  in  order  to  show  her  gratitude 
and  affection,  she  went  and  caught  a  mouse, 
which  she  laid  on  his  pillow. 

I  have  always  thought  that  the  good  qualities 
of  the  cat  have  seldom  been  appreciated  at  their 
just  worth.  This  one  trait  of  generosity,  which 
we  all  agree  in  considering  as  one  of  the  noblest 
characteristics  of  man,  is  developed  very  greatly 
in  the  cat,  which,  instead  of  being  a  greedy,  self- 
ish animal,  as  we  are  generally  told,  is  really  a 
very  unselfish  and  generous  one,  capable  of  great 
self-sacrifice,  and  for  objects  which  appear  hard- 
ly worthy  of  it. 

The  following  anecdote  of  generosity  in  a  cat 
was  told  to  me  by  Mr.  Zwecker,  the  well-known 
artist,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  so  many  ad- 
mirable illustrations. 

A  friend  of  his  had  a  couple  of  tame  sea-gulls 
which  ranged  the  garden  freely,  one  wing  of  each 
being  clipped,  to  prevent  them  from  flying  away. 
He  had  also  a  fine  young  cat,  which  struck  up 
an  oddly  assorted  friendship  with  the  gulls.  Aft- 
er a  while  she  evidently  compassionated  their 
crippled  condition,  and  thought  that  it  prevented 
them  from  hunting.  So  she  set  to  work  at  hunt- 
ing for  them,  and  was  in  the  habit  of  bringing 
them  little  birds  and  mice,  which  they  ate  with 
the  solemn  satisfaction  of  a  gull  at  meals.  It  is 
astonishing,  by  the  way,  what  a  large  morsel  a 
gull  can  swallow.  I  have  often  seen  a  gull  take 
a  large  slice  of  bread-and-butter  by  the  middle, 
and,  in  spite  of  the  narrowness  of  its  beak,  the 
bird  contrived  to  swallow  the  slice  without  put- 
ting it  down  or  breaking  it. 

The  following  account  of  generosity  on  the 
part  of  a  cat  was  sent  to  me  by  a  lady  living  near 


Brighton.  I  knew  both  the  animals  mentioned. 
"Nelly"  was  a  large,  black,  silken-haired  retriev- 
er, and  a  great  favorite. 

"In  the  hot  weather  our  large  dog  Nelly,  whom 
you  admired  so  much,  used  to  be  chained  under 
a  large  oak  in  the  grounds  at  the  back  of  the 
house,  just  within  sight  of  her  kennel  and  the 
yard  door.  This  was  done  that  she  might  have 
the  comfort  of  the  cool  position  during  the  heat 
of  the  day,  and  at  the  same  time  command  the 
back  entrance  to  the  house.  This,  however,  took 
her  away  from  the  neighborhood  of  the  cook,  and 
the  little  scraps  and  dainty  bits  which  used  to  be 
given  to  her  now  and  then  while  the  different 
meals  were  in  course  of  preparation. 

"At  the  same  time,  we  had  a  dear,  motherly 
old  cat,  who  did  not  approve  of  the  change  of 
position  in  which  her  friend  Nelly  was  placed. 
Still  less  did  she  approve  of  the  cook  putting  all 
the  scraps  in  a  plate,  instead  of  giving  them  to 
Nelly.  So  she  set  herself  to  work  at  conveying 
them  to  her  friend,  and  every  thing  that  was  not 
too  large  for  her  to  carry  or  drag  along  she  took 
to  the  dog  under  the  tree,  and  seemed  delighted 
when  she  saw  her  friend  eat  them. 

"Now  she  never  stole  any  thing  for  herself, 
but  she  would  always  do  so  for  any  of  the  dogs. 
She  used  to  carry  little  treats  to  a  small  dog 
that  was  chained  up  in  the  house,  but  this  was 
after  she  developed  the  plan  of  helping  Nelly  to 
the  dainties  of  which  she,  in  her  pussy-cat  brain, 
considered  her  friend  to  have  been  defrauded." 

I  know  of  a  somewhat  similar  case,  where  a 
cat  was  seen  to  steal  a  piece  of  meat  and  run  off 
with  it.  She  was  followed,  and  then  it  was  found 
that  she  had  stolen  the  meat  in  order  to  feed  a 
miserable  cat  that  had  fallen  into  a  deep  hole, 
and  could  not  get  out. 

The  late  Captain  Hall,  author  of  the  well- 
known  "Life  among  the  Esquimaux,"  was  a  great 
appreciator  of  the  lower  animals,  especially  of  the 
dog.  There  was  one  sledge-dog  in  particular 
who  was  a  particular  favorite  with  Captain  Hall, 
in  consequence  of  his  intellectual  character,  and 
the  odd,  quaint  ways  which  he  had.  The  reader 
will  admire  the  singular  self-denial  and  generos- 
ity of  the  animal  as  shown  in  the  story  told  by 
Captain  Hall : 

"As  Koojesse  cautiously  proceeded,  we  all 
watched  him  most  eagerly.  Fifteen  minutes 
saw  him  '  breasted'*  by  a  small  island,  toward 
which  the  deer  approached.  When  they  were 
within  rifle-shot  he  fired,  but  evidently  missed, 
for  the  game  wheeled  around  and  darted  away. 

"Directly  the  report  was  heard,  'Barbekark,' 
my  Greenland  dog,  bounded  off  toward  the  bat- 


GENEROSITY. 


71 


tie-ground,  followed  by  all  the  other  dogs.  This 
was  annoying,  as  it  threatened  to  put  an  end  to 
any  more  firing  at  the  game  ;  and,  if  they  would 
have  heeded  us,  we  should  instantly  have  recall- 
ed them.  But  it  was  now  useless.  The  dogs 
were  in  full  chase,  and  fears  were  entertained 
that  if  they  got  too  far  away,  some,  if  not  all  of 
them,  would  be  lost.  At  length  we  saw  Barbe- 
kark,  pursuing,  not  in  the  deer  tracks,  circuitous, 
flexuous,  mazy  in  course,  but  in  a  direct  line, 
thus  evincing  a  sagacity  most  remarkable.  The 
other  dogs,  not  taking  the  same  course,  soon  fell 
behind. 

"On  and  on  went  Barbekark  straight  for  a 
spot  which  brought  him  close  upon  the  deer. 
The  latter  immediately  changed  their  course, 
and  so  did  Barbekark,  hot  in  pursuit  after  them. 
Thus  it  continued  for  nearly  two  hours ;  first  this 
way,  then  that ;  now  in  a  circle,  then  zigzag ; 
now  direct,  then  at  right  angles,  among  the  nu- 
merous islands  at  the  head  of  the  bay. 

"For  a  while  nothing  more  was  thought  of 
the  affair,  save  an  expression  of  regret  that  the 
dogs  would  not  be  able  to  find  their  way  home, 
so  far  had  they  been  led  by  the  enticing  game. 

"A  little  before  twelve,  mid-day,  Barbekark 
was  seen  coming  back,  and  presently  he  came  on 
board,  with  blood  around  his  mouth  and  over 
his  body.  No  importance  was  attached  to  this 
beyond  supposing  that  he  had  come  into  collis- 
ion with  the  deer;  but  as  for  killing  one,  the 
thought  was  not  entertained  for  a  moment. 
Those  who  had  often  wintered  in  the  Arctic  re- 
gion said  they  had  never  known  a  dog  to  be  of 
any  use  in  hunting  down  deer,  and  therefore  we 
concluded  that  our  game  was  gone.  But  there 
was  something  in  the  conduct  of  Barbekark  that 
induced  a  few  of  the  men  to  think  it  possible  he 
had  been  successful.  He  was  fidgety,  and  rest- 
lessly bent  upon  drawing  attention  to  the  quarter 
where  he  had  been  chasing. 

"  He  kept  whining,  and  going  first  to  one  and 
then  another,  as  if  asking  them  to  do  something 
he  wanted.  The  captain  even  noticed  him  jump- 
ing about,  and  playing  unusual  pranks,  running 
toward  the  gangway  steps,  then  back  again. 
This  he  did  several  times,  yet  no  one  gave  him 
more  than  a  passing  notice.  He  went  to  Kee- 
ney,  and  tried  to  enlist  his  attention,  which  at 
last  he  did  so  far  as  to  make  him  come  down  to 
me. 

"I  was  writing  in  my  cabin  at  the  time,  and 
mention  it ;  but  I  gave  no  heed,  being  so  much 
occupied  with  my  work.  Perhaps,  had  Barbe- 
kark found  me,  I  should  have  comprehended  his 
actions.  As  it  was,  he  failed  to  convey  his 
meaning  to  any  body.  Presently  one  of  the 


men,  called  '  Spikes,'  went  off  to  the  wreck  of  the 
Rescue,  and  Barbekark  immediately  followed ; 
but,  seeing  that  Spikes  went  no  farther,  the  dog 
bounded  off  to  the  northwest,  and  then  Spikes 
concluded  that  it  was  really  possible  that  Barbe- 
kark had  killed  the  deer.  Accordingly  he  return- 
ed on  board,  and  a  party  of  the  ship's  crew  start- 
ed to  see  about  it,  though  the  weather  was  very 
cold  and  inclement.  They  were  away  two  hours ; 
and  when  they  came  back,  we  could  observe  that 
each  was  carrying  something  like  a  heavy  bun- 
dle on  his  head. 

"Still  we  could  not  believe  it  possible  that  it 
was  portions  of  the  deer;  and  only  when  they 
came  so  near  that  the  strange  fact  was  percepti- 
ble, could  we  credit  our  senses.  One  man,  al- 
most Hercules-like,  had  the  skin  wrapped  around 
him,  another  had  half  of  the  saddle,  a  third  the 
other  half,  and  the  rest  each  some  portion  of  the 
deer  that  we  had  all  especially  noticed.  In  a 
short  time  they  were  on  board,  and  deposited 
their  loads  triumphantly  on  the  scuttle-door  lead- 
ing to  the  cooking  department  below. 

"Every  officer  and  man  of  the  ship,  all  the  In- 
nuits  and  Innuit  dogs,  then  congregated  round 
the  tempting  pile  of  delicious  fresh  meat,  the 
trophy,  as  it  really  proved,  of  my  fine  Greenland 
dog,  Barbekark.  The  universal  astonishment 
was  so  great  that  hardly  a  man  of  us  knew  what 
to  say.  At  length  we  heard  the  facts,  as  follows : 

* '  Our  men  had  followed  Barbekark's  return 
tracks  for  about  a  mile  from  the  vessel,  in  a  di- 
rect line  northward ;  thence  westward  some  two 
miles  farther  to  an  island,  where,  to  their  sur- 
prise, they  found  Barbekark  and  the  other  Green- 
land dogs  seated  upon  their  haunches  around  the 
deer  lying  dead  before  them. 

"On  examination,  its  throat  was  shown  to  be 
cut  with  Barbekark's  teeth  as  effectually  as  if  any 
white  man  or  Innuit  had  done  it  with  a  knife. 
The  windpipe  and  jugular  vein  had  both  been 
severed ;  more,  a  piece  of  each,  with  a  part  of 
the  tongue,  the  skin  and  flesh  covering  the  same, 
had  actually  been  bitten  out.  The  moment 
Sam,  one  of  the  men  in  advance  of  the  rest, 
approached,  Barbekark  jumped  from  his  watch- 
ful position  close  by  the  head  of  his  victim,  and 
ran  to  meet  him,  with  manifestations  of  delight, 
wagging  his  tail  and  swinging  his  head  about. 
At  the  same  time  he  looked  up  into  Sam's 
eyes,  as  if  saying,  'I've  done  the  best  I  could; 
I've  killed  the  deer, eaten  just  one  luscious  mouth- 
ful, and  lapped  up  some  of  the  blood.  I  now 
give  up  what  you  see,  merely  asking  for  myself 
and  these  my  companions,  who  have  been  faith- 
fully guarding  the  prize,  such  portions  as  your- 
selves may  disdain.'" 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


It  is  impossible  that  human  beings  could  have 
acted  more  generously,  and  it  is  tolerably  certain 
that  few  savages  would  have  done  as  much.  In- 
deed, after  reading  the  accounts  of  the  African 
savages  as  written  by  Livingstone,  Baker,  Grant, 
Burke,  Burton,  and  other  modem  travelers,  we 
can  but  come  to  the  conclusion  that  if  a  number 
of  savages  in  the  service  of  a  traveler  had  killed 
an  animal,  very  few  minutes  would  have  elapsed 
before  the  carcass  was  torn  to  pieces. 

See,  also,  how  many  human  attributes  are  here 
shown.  There  is  Reason.  The  animal,  on  hear- 
ing the  gun,  and  seeing  the  deer  go  off,  thought 
that  his  help  was  wanted,  and  at  once  gave  it, 
with  the  assistance  of  his  comrades,  over  whom  he 
evidently  exercised  the  authority  that  is  so  often 
evinced  when  peculiarly  intellectual  animals  are 
brought  in  contact  with  those  less  highly  gifted. 
The  latter  at  once  acquiesce  in  their  own  inferior- 
ity, and  submit  to  the  leadership  of  their  acknowl- 
edged superior.  His  reasoning  powers  were  again 
shown  by  the  way  in  which  he  led  the  chase  of 
the  deer — not  following  their  circular  tracks,  but 
cutting  across  them,  just  as  if  he  had  been  a  math- 
ematician who  knew  that  the  chord  was  shorter 
than  the  arc. 

Having  killed  the  deer,  he  set  his  companions 
to  watch  the  carcass,  while  he  went  off  to  bring 
assistance  in  carrying  the  deer  home.  He  knew 
that  although  he  and  his  companions  could  not 
get  the  deer  to  the  ship,  the  men  could  do  so,  and 
accordingly  he  went  to  ask  their  aid  in  his  own 
doggish  language.  He  must  also,  before  he  start- 
ed, have  told  his  companions  that  they  must  not 
eat  the  deer.  The  generosity  displayed  by  all  the 
dogs  is  really  wonderful,  when  we  come  to  con- 
sider the  circumstances.  An  Esquimau  sledge- 
dog  is  always  hungry ;  for,  in  the  first  place,  the 
constant  and  severe  work  in  which  they  are  en- 
gaged is  enough  to  give  them  a  ravenous  appe- 
tite ;  and  in  the  next,  the  supply  of  food  is  al- 
ways very  limited. 

So  furiously  hungry  are  these  dogs  that  it  is  no 
uncommon  thing  for  them  to  eat  up  the  leather 
harness  of  the  sledges,  and  at  night  it  is  necessa- 
ry to  suspend  all  such  articles  out  of  their  reach. 
Yet,  with  the  carcass  of  a  newly  killed  reindeer 
before  them,  and  with  the  certainty  before  their 
eyes  of  such  a  meal  as  they  had  never  enjoyed, 
and  were  never  likely  even  to  see  again,  these  dogs 
were  generous  enough  to  restrain  their  appetites, 
and,  instead  of  gratifying  their  raging  hunger  on 
the  dainty  banquet  within  their  reach,  sat  and 
guarded  it  for  hours,  and  delivered  it  untouched 
to  their  masters.  How  many  hungry  men  are 
there  who  would  have  acted  so  generous  a  part, 
and  have  exercised  such  trying  self-denial  ?  We 


shall  hear  more  of  Barbekark  in  another  portion 
of  this  work. 

In  the  Naturalist's  Magazine  there  is  a  re- 
markable instance  of  generosity  on  the  part  of  a 
sparrow.  As  a  general  rule,  sparrows  are  re- 
markable for  their  ability  in  taking  care  of  them- 
selves, and  for  the  manner  in  which  they  will 
seize  for  themselves  the  property  of  others.  For 
example,  there  are  many  places  where  the  house- 
mavtin  used  to  abound,  and  is  now  almost  ex- 
tinct, simply  because  the  sparrows  allowed  them 
to  build  their  mud  nests,  then  ejected  them,  and 
took  possession  themselves.  Sparrows  have  also 
been  known  to  act  as  the  eagle  does  to  the  osprey, 
and  the  skua-gull  to  the  smaller  species, «.  e.,  al- 
low the  weaker  bird  to  take  all  the  trouble  of  cap- 
turing prey,  and  then  take  it  away  by  violence. 

There  are,  however,  exceptions  to  every  rule, 
and  a  very  honorable  one  is  recorded  in  the  Nat- 
uralist's Magazine.  A  lady  possessed,  among 
other  birds,  a  canary,  whose  cage  used  to  hang 
outside  the  window.  One  morning  a  sparrow 
perched  on  the  cage,  and  seemed  to  hold  a  sort 
of  conversation  with  the  inmate.  Presently  he 
flew  away,  but  shortly  returned  with  a  grub, 
which  he  dropped  into  the  cage.  Every  day  at 
the  same  time  the  sparrow  made  his  appearance 
with  his  accustomed  offering,  and  the  canary  at 
last  became  sufficiently  familiar  to  take  his  food 
directly  from  the  sparrow's  beak.  The  lady  then 
put  some  more  cages  out  of  the  window,  and  the 
sparrow  fed  all  of  the  inmates,  invariably,  how- 
ever, selecting  the  canary  for  his  first  visit,  and 
making  the  longest  stay  with  that  bird. 

Now  let  us  pass  to  generosity  in  the  sense  of 
Magnanimity,  or  unwillingness  to  resent  an  inju- 
ry, though  possessing  the  power  to  do  so.  There 
are  few  qualities  in  human  nature  more  noble 
than  the  capability  of  foregoing  revenge  when 
the  offender  is  powerless  to  resist.  I  suppose 
that  all  my  readers  have  heard  of  the  famous 
answer  to  a  justly  offended  man,  "Would  it  not 
be  manly  to  resent  such  an  affront  ?"  "  Yes,  but 
it  would  be  godlike  to  forgive  it."  Those  who 
are  conscious  of  power  are  never  afraid  to  forgive ; 
and  thus  it  is  that  in  the  daily  services  of  our 
Church  the  very  first  invocation  runs  thus,  "Al- 
mighty and  most  merciful  Father."  Almighty, 
and  therefore  all-merciful.  Looking  back  through 
history,  we  shall  find  that  those  whose  names  have 
lived  as  the  noblest  of  the  human  race  have  been 
distinguished  by  that  divine  quality  of  mercy 
which  Shakespeare  has  described  in  words  too  fa- 
miliar for  quotation. 

Indeed,  when  we  find  those  beings  whom  we 


GENEROSITY. 


73 


call  "brute"  beasts  rising  to  a  moral  grandeur 
which  few  men  can  attain,  disdaining  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  opportunity  of  vengeance,  and 
even  repaying  evil  with  good,  it  does  seem  an  ut- 
ter absurdity  to  say  that  they  are  not  acting  under 
the  inspiration  of  Him  who  gave  us  the  celestial 
maxim,  "  Love  your  enemies."  By  their  action 
they  show  themselves  worthy  of  life  everlasting ; 
and  what  they  deserve  they  will  assuredly  re- 
ceive at  the  hands  of  Him  who  is  Justice  and 
Truth. 

Consciously  or  unconsciously,  this  feeling  is  ac- 
knowledged among  mankind.  Taking  our  own 
nature,  for  example,  prize-fighters  are  not  con- 
sidered among  the  most  elevated  class  of  society. 
Yet  one  of  the  fundamental  rules  of  the  "ring" 
is,  "  Don't  hit  a  man  when  he  is  down ;"  and  any 
boxer  who  demeaned  himself  by  such  an  act 
would  be  at  once  adjudged  to  have  lost  the  fight, 
and  would  be  disqualified  from  entering  the  ring 
for  the  rest  of  his  life.  Striking  below  the  belt 
is  another  disqualifying  action ;  and  the  custom 
of  shaking  hands  before  a  fight,  and  the  victor 
sending  round  his  hat  on  behalf  of  his  vanquish- 
ed foe,  are  customs  showing  that  even  in  this  low 
stratum  of  society  there  is  a  recognition  of  the 
one  great  principle. 

Of  the  axiom  that  those  who  are  strongest  are 
least  apt  to  use  their  strength,  a  curious  example 
occurred  some  years  ago,  when  the  "ring"  was 
in  its  palmiest  days,  and  the  highest  in  the  land 
went  openly  to  see  a  fight  as  they  now  go  to  a 
horse-race. 

A  man  in  the  quarrelsome  stage  of  drink  came 
into  a  public-house,  and  began  to  wrangle  with 
those  who  were  already  there.  At  last  he  took 
umbrage  at  one  of  the  guests  who  was  sitting 
quietly  smoking  his  pipe,  and  finding  that  he  was 
not  to  be  drawn  into  a  fight,  called  him  a  coward 
and  struck  him  on  the  face,  drawing  blood.  The 
man  merely  wiped  his  face,  and  went  on  with  his 
pipe.  One  of  the  guests  exclaimed,  "How  can 
you  stand  this,  Tom  Cribb  ?"  At  the  sound  of 
the  dreaded  name,  the  assailant  dashed  out  of  the 
room,  and  was  not  seen  again.  Cribb  could  af- 
ford to  take  an  insult  from  a  man  whom  every  one 
present  knew  he  could  have  killed  at  a  single  blow. 

As  with  man,  so  it  is  with  the  lower  animals ; 
and  there  are  many  instances  on  record  where 
the  strong  have  disdained  to  make  reprisals  on  the 
weak,  no  matter  what  the  offense  might  be. 

I  knew  two  dogs  in  whom  the  "  quality  of  mer- 
cy "  was  strongly  developed.  One  was  an  enor- 
mous animal  called  "Lupo,"  because  he  looked 
just  like  a  white  wolf,  except  that  he  was  very 
much  larger.  Handsome  as  he  was,  his  enormous 


size  made  him  very  inconvenient  in  the  house,  for 
when  he  chose  to  lie  on  the  hearth-rug  no  one 
had  a  chance  of  coming  near  the  fire.  In  the 
same  house  was  a  little  black -and -tan  terrier 
called  "Tiny."  Now  in  cold  weather  Tiny  liked 
to  have  a  warm  couch  by  the  fire  ;  and  whenever 
Lupo  had  composed  himself  to  sleep,  she  used  to 
climb  upon  his  body,  turn  round  and  round  in  his 
long  fur  as  if  he  were  nothing  but  a  door- mat, 
and  also  settle  down  to  rest. 

The  absurdity  of  the  proceeding  was  crowned 
by  the  fact  that  when  she  had  thus  settled  herself 
she  would  not  allow  Lupo  to  move.  If  he  even 
ventured  to  stir  and  disturb  her,  she  would  fly 
savagely  at  his  head,  barking  and  growling  vi- 
ciously; and  if  he  did  not  at  once  lie  quiet, 
thought  nothing  of  biting  one  of  his  long  ears, 
Lupo  submitting  as  tamely  as  if  he  had  taken  his 
name  from  a  lamb,  rather  than  a  wolf. 

Yet  Lupo  was  by  no  means  an  animal  to  be  tri- 
fled with.  He  once  had  a  tremendous  fight  with 
his  master  about  a  bone ;  and  it  was  not  until 
after  he  had  bitten  his  antagonist  severely  in  the 
wrist  and  arms,  and  had  had  a  succession  of  sticks 
broken  over  him,  that  he  succumbed.  Having 
done  so,  he,  after  the  manner  of  well-bred  dogs, 
gave  in  completely,  and  came  crawling  to  his 
master's  feet  for  forgiveness. 

As  to  dogs  in  general,  Lupo  had  an  objection 
to  them,  and,  when  he  accompanied  his  master's 
carriage,  had  generally  to  be  muzzled,  lest  he 
should  pick  up  any  stray  dog,  give  it  a  shake,  toss 
the  dead  body  over  his  shoulder,  and  trot  on  as 
if  nothing  had  happened.  The  curious  point  in 
his  temperament  was,  that  if  a  dog  ran  away  from 
him  that  animal  was  doomed,  unless  Lupo  had 
a  muzzle.  But  if  the  dog  flew  at  him  he  respect- 
ed that  dog,  and  treated  him  with  perfect  forbear- 
ance. I  have  seen  as  many  as  three  dogs  at  a 
time  hanging  on  to  him,  Lupo  trotting  on  uncon- 
cernedly, and  not  taking  the  least  notice  of  them, 
even  when  they  dropped  off  through  weariness  of 
jaw. 

There  was  one  dog  which  had  actually  fought 
himself  into  friendship  with  Lupo.  He  was  a 
terrier  belonging  to  a  blacksmith  who  lived  about 
half-way  between  the  station  and  the  house  of 
Lupo's  master.  For  some  time  the  animal  used 
to  fly  at  Lupo  twice  daily,  namely,  during  the 
progress  to  and  from  the  station;  Lupo,  as  usu- 
al, respecting  him  for  his  courage,  but  not  even 
attempting  to  injure  him.  At  last  having,  like 
Mrs.  Malaprop,  begun  with  a  little  aversion,  the 
two  animals  struck  up  a  friendship,  the  terrier 
watching  for  Lupo,  gamboling  with  him  until  he 
had  reached  his  journey's  end,  and  then  returning 
home  alone. 


74 


MAN 


BEAST. 


ifci^  bull-dog  "Apollo"  was  equally  magnani- 
mous :*b«^  \xpul.d.  suffer  almost  any  provocation 
from  a  dog  smaller  or  not  much  larger  than  him- 
self, but  never  would  allow  any  liberty  to  be 
taken  by  a  big  dog.  Over  and  over  again  has 
he  allowed  little  dogs  to  bite  him  without  trou- 
bling himself  to  retaliate ;  but  if  a  big  dog  ven- 
tured upon  an  insult,  that  dog  had  to  run. 

One  day  as  I  was  walking  to  the  post-office, 
with  Apollo  at  my  heels,  as  usual,  a  remarkably 
fine  black  retriever  came  up  and  began  to  growl  at 
him.  Apollo  only  gave  him  a  glance  out  of  the 
corner  of  his  eye,  and  trotted  on.  The  retriever 
came  close,  and  continued  to  growl ;  whereupon 
I  cautioned  his  owner  that,  if  his  dog  would  let 
Apollo  alone,  Apollo  would  have  nothing  to  say 
to  him,  but  that  if  the  retriever  continued  his  in- 
sults I  could  not  answer  for  the  consequences. 

The  only  reply  was  a  disdainful  smile,  and  a 
contemptuous  look  at  the  dog.  After  some  more 
annoyance  Apollo  gave  a  slight  growl/  and  the 
hairs  of  his  back  began  to  bristle  ominously. 
Again  I  gave  warning,  but  with  the  same  result. 
Presently  the  retriever  flew  at  Apollo,  bit  him  in 
the  ear,  and  next  moment  was  on  his  back,  with 
Apollo's  grip  on  his  throat.  The  retriever's 
master  was  so  startled  at  the  sudden  change  of 
affairs  that  he  could  not  interfere,  and  in  a  min- 
ute there  would  have  been  a  dead  retriever.  For- 
tunately I  had  taught  Apollo  to  loosen  his  hold 
at  the  word  of  command  (the  hardest  lesson  I 
ever  had  to  teach  a  dog),  and  I  culled  him  off. 


In  a  few  moments  the  fallen  animal  recovered 
his  breath  and  his  legs,  and  made  off  at  full 
speed,  yelping  with  pain  and  terror,  and  I  saw 
nothing  more  of  him.  As  for  Apollo,  he  fell 
back  unconcernedly  to  his  place  at  my  heels, 
and  trotted  on  as  if  such  a  thing  as  a  retriever 
had  never  been  in  existence. 

The  anecdotes  which  have  been  just  related 
show  that  animals  can  act  magnanimously  to- 
ward each  other.  Here,  however,  is  an  instance 
where  a  dog  which  would  most  assuredly  have 
assaulted  the  man  whom  he  hated,  had  the  latter 
been  in  a  position  to  defend  himself,  did  most 
nobly  forego  his  vengeance  when  the  enemy  was 
completely  at  his  mercy.  As  is  usually  the  case 
with  the  most  characteristic  dog  anecdotes,  the 
event  occurred  in  Scotland  : 

"The  manager  of  a  mill  in  Fifeshire  was 
very  much  disliked  by  the  watch-dog,  probably 
because  he  had  acted  harshly  to  the  animal. 
One  very  dark  night  he  strayed  from  the  path 
and  fell  over  the  dog.  Perceiving  the  mistake 
which  he  had  made,  and  that  he  could  not  recov- 
er himself,  he  gave  himself  up  as  lost,  the  dog 
being  a  very  powerful  one.  The  animal,  how- 
ever, was  magnanimous  enough  to  spare  a  help- 
less enemy,  and  to  lay  aside  old  grievances.  In- 
stead of  seizing  the  prostrate  man  by  the  throat, 
the  dog  only  licked  his  face  and  indicated  his 
sympathy.  Ever  afterward  the  man  and  the 
dog  were  great  friends." 


CHEATERT. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

CHEATERY. 

Animal  Swindlers.— "  Barbekark  "  as  a  Cheat.— Roguery  Detected.— Dogs  Shamming  Lameness.— Dogs 
Cheating  Each  Other.— The  Elephant,  "Burnt  Sahib,"  Hiding  a  Cake.— Comparison  with  Humanity.— 
Golden-crested  Wren  as  a  Cheat  and  Thief.— Two  Ravens  Uniting  to  Cheat  a  Dog  out  of  his  Dinner.— 
Alliance  between  a  Dog  and  a  Raven.— Principle  of  the  Ambuscade. 


ALL  virtues  have  their  opposite  vices ;  and 
just  as  there  are  animals  capable  of  exercising 
great  self-denial  in  order  to  give  to  others  that 
which  belongs  to  themselves,  and  even  displaying 
an  amount  of  generosity  unsurpassable  by  any  hu- 
man being,  so  there  are  animals  which  can  cheat 
like  accomplished  swindlers.  Sometimes,  as  in 
the  following  instance,  the  same  animal  is  capa- 
ble of  both  acts. 

Here  is  an  anecdote  of  "Barbekark,"  the  dog 
which  killed  the  deer,  and  then  gave  it  up  to  his 
master.  The  narrator  is  Captain  Hall : 

"I  have  before  mentioned  some  particulars 
of  these^dogs,  and  I  now  relate  an  anecdote  con- 
cerning them  during  our  passage  across  from 
Greenland. 

"One  day,  in  feeding  the  dogs,  I  called  the 
whole  of  them  around  me,  and  gave  to  each  in 
turn  a  capelin,  or  small  dried  fish.  To  do  this 
fairly,  I  used  to  make  all  the  dogs  encircle  me, 
until  every  one  had  received  ten  of  the  capelins 
apiece. 

"Now  Barbekark,  a  very  young  and  shrewd 
dog,  took  it  into  his  head  that  he  would  play  a 
white  man's  trick.  So  every  time  that  he  re- 
ceived his  fish  he  would  back  square  out,  move  a 
distance  of  two  or  three  dogs,  and  force  himself 
in  line  again,  thus  receiving  double  the  share  of 
every  other  dog.  But  this  joke  of  Barbekark's 
bespoke  too  much  of  the  game  that  many  men 
play  upon  their  fellow-beings,  and,  as  I  noticed 
it,  I  determined  to  check  his  doggish  propensi- 
ties. Still,  the  cunning  and  the  singular  way  in 
which  he  evidently  watched  me  induced  a  mo- 
ment's pause  in  my  intentions. 

"  Each  dog  thankfully  took  his  capelin  as  his 
turn  came  round;  but  Barbekark,  finding  his 
share  come  twice  as  often  as  his  companions,  ap- 
peared to  shake  his  tail  twice  as  thankfully  as  the 
others.  A  twinkle  in  his  eyes,  as  they  caught 
mine,  seemed  to  say,  *  Keep  dark ;  these  igno- 


rant fellows  don't  know  the  game  I  am  playing. 
I  am  confoundedly  hungry.' 

"  Seeing  my  face  smiling  at  his  trick,  he  now 
commenced  making  another  change,  thus  getting 
three  portions  to  each  of  the  others'  one.  This 
was  enough,  and  it  was  now  time  for  me  to  re- 
verse the  order  of  Barbekark's  game  by  playing 
a  trick  upon  him.  Accordingly  every  time  I 
came  to  him  he  got  no  fish;  and  although  he 
changed  his  position  three  times,  yet  he  got  noth- 
ing. Then,  if  ever  there  were  a  picture  of  disap- 
pointed plans,  of  envy  at  others'  fortune,  and  sor- 
row at  a  sad  misfortune,  it  was  to  be  found  on 
that  dog's  countenance  as  he  watched  his  com- 
panions receiving  their  allowance.  Finding  he 
could  not  succeed  by  any  change  of  his  position, 
he  withdrew  from  the  circle  to  where  I  was,  and 
came  to  me,  crowding  his  way  between  my  legs, 
and  looked  up  in  my  face  as  if  to  say,  '  I  have 
been  a  very  bad  dog ;  forgive  me,  and  Barbekark 
will  cheat  his  brother  dogs  no  more.  Please, 
sir,  give  me  my  share  of  capelins.'  I  went  the 
rounds  three  times  more,  and  let  him  have  the 
fish,  as  he  had  shown  himself  so  sagacious,  and 
so  much  like  a  repentant  prodigal  dog." 

As  cheatery  requires  the  use  of  the  intellect, 
it  is  evident  that  the  most  intellectual  animals 
will  be  the  most  accomplished  cheats.  Dogs, 
therefore,  may  be  expected  to  be  considerable 
adepts  in  cheating,  and  are  often  very  amusing  in 
their  attempts  to  deceive  human  beings.  Here 
are  one  or  two  more  examples  of  cheating  in 
the  dog : 

One  of  my  friends  had  a  couple  of  little  toy 
terrier  dogs.  As  is  usually  the  case  in  such 
instances,  though  very  fond  of  each  other,  they 
were  horribly  jealous  with  regard  to  their  master, 
and  neither  could  endure  to  see  the  other  caress- 
ed. It  so  happened  that  one  of  them  broke  its 
leg,  and  was  in  consequence  much  petted.  Its 
companion,  seeing  the  attention  that  was  paid  to 
the  injured  animal,  pretended  to  be  lame  itself, 


76 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


and  came  limping  to  its  master,  holding  up  the 
corresponding  leg,  and  trying  to  look  as  if  it 
were  in  great  pain. 

The  following  anecdote  is  sent  me  by  a  friend  : 
"A  Skye  terrier  of  our  acquaintance  named 
'Monte'  had  at  one  time  a  very  sore  leg,  and  dur- 
ing his  illness  he  got  a  great  deal  of  sympathy 
and  petting.  Ever  since,  when  he  has  been  in 
any  mischief,  he  comes  running  on  three  legs, 
holding  up  the  one  which  was  once  sore,  but  is 
now  quite  well.  In  his  own  way  he  is  quite  as 
arrant  an  impostor  as  the  well-known  begging 
'  sailor'  with  one  leg  tied  up  to  look  as  if  he  had 
lost  it." 

A  curious  and  rather  ludicrous  instance  of 
cheatery  on  the  part  of  the  dog  was  observed  by 
one  of  my  friends. 

He  has  three  little  black-and-tan  terriers,  fa- 
ther, mother,  and  daughter,  which  are  great  pets, 
and  consider  the  house  as  their  own  property. 
Like  most  pet  dogs,  they  have  their  favorite  spots 
by  way  of  couches  ;  and  as  they  all  three  gener- 
ally take  a  fancy  to  the  same  spot,  there  is  occa- 
sionally a  difference  of  opinion  and  a  slight  loss 
of  temper.  The  one  pet  spot  of  all  is  a  soft  cush- 
ion at  the  head  of  a  sofa.  Now  the  cushion  had 
accommodated  easily  the  father  and  the  mother ; 
but  when  the  daughter  came,  and  in  course  of 
time  wanted  her  share  of  the  couch,  it  was  found 
that  the  quarters  were  rather  too  limited  for  com- 
fort, especially  as  the  daughter  persisted  in  grow- 
ing until  she  reached  the  size  of  her  parents. 

One  day  the  father  and  daughter  had  got  into 
the  room  first,  and  according  to  custom  made 
straightway  for  the  cushion,  on  which  they  es- 
tablished themselves  comfortably,  occupying  the 
whole  of  its  surface.  Presently  the  mother  came 
in,  and  also  went  to  the  cushion.  She  tried  to 
take  her  place  on  it,  but  her  husband  was  too 
selfish  and  her  daughter  too  undutiful  to  move, 
and  in  consequence  she  had  to  retire. 

Presently  she  went  to  the  farthest  corner  of 
the  room,  and  suddenly  began  to  scratch  violent- 
ly, barking,  growling,  and  sniffing  as  if  she  were 
digging  out  a  rat.  Up  jumped  the  others,  all 
blazing  with  excitement,  and  anxious  to  have 
their  share  of  the  sport.  As  soon  as  they  had 
got  their  noses  well  down  in  the  corner,  the 
mother  ran  to  the  sofa  at  full  speed,  jumped  on 
the  cushion,  curled  herself  round,  and  was  hap- 
py. However,  she  was  generous  in  victory,  and 
made  room  for  her  husband  and  daughter  as 
they  came  back  to  the  sofa  crest-fallen  and  hu- 
miliated. 

One  of  my  brothers  has  furnished  me  with  an 


account  of  an  audacious  piece  of  cheatery  prac- 
ticed by  his  dog :  / 

"My  dog  is  a  white  terrier,  called  'Sambo,'  *r 
on  account  of  his  color,  supposed  to  be  a  pure 
specimen  of  the  '  fox'  variety,  but  perversely  ex- 
hibiting unmistakable  evidences  of  the  existence 
of  the  more  plebeian  '  bull'  somewhere  in  the  roll 
of  his  ancestry.  He  is  good-tempered  and  affec- 
tionate, and  devoted  to  his  master — and  to  sport, 
especially  to  the  pursuit  of  rabbits. 

"  One  fine  morning  last  January  I  took  him 
out  for  a  couple  of  hours'  rabbiting,  to  his  great 
joy,  but,  as  I  could  also  see,  by  his  way  of  con- 
stantly coming  back  to  have  a  look  at  my  face, 
to  his  intense  puzzlement.  An  afternoon  alone 
with  me  was  quite  natural,  and  according  to  cus- 
tom ;  but  starting  at  eleven  A.M.  had  always 
meant  a  day  with  the  keepers,  and  where  were 
the  keepers?  We  found  no  rabbits;  but  then 
he  was  not  busy  as  usual :  his  head  was  not  suf- 
ficiently clear  from  other  matters  to  look  them, 
up  with  his  usual  care  and  perseverance. 

"  He  passed  many  a  likely  bush  without  even 
a  glance  of  his  eye,  and  I  began  to  fear  that 
he  was  ill ;  when  suddenly,  as  luck  would  have 
it,  we  heard  several  shots  in  rapid  succession, 
and  found  ourselves  in  the  midst  of  a  regular 
rabbiting  party.  The  effect  upon  Sambo  was 
miraculous ;  his  tail  and  ears  went  up,  and  he 
sprang  at  once  from  a  state  of  low  desponden- 
cy into  one  of  violent  activity.  A  few  moments 
before  and  he  seemed  to  have  made  up  his  mind 
that  the  British  rabbit  was  an  extinct  animal, 
and  his  master  a  great  fool  for  carrying  a  gun 
in  pursuit  of  it :  of  course,  as  he  was  under  or- 
ders, he  must  look  for  them,  or  pretend  to  do 
so — but  it  was  awful  humbug.  Now,  to  see  him 
rushing  all  over  the  place,  quartering  the  ground, 
with  his  tail  going,  and  his  nose  investigating 
every  little  tuft,  one  would  have  thought  there 
was  a  rabbit  for  every  square  yard. 

"Things  went  on  as  usual  until  the  time  ar- 
rived that  I  had  to  take  my  leave  and  return 
home.  Now  not  only  had  we  just  arrived  at  a 
favorable  spot  in  the  covert — a  fact  just  as  well 
known  to  the  dogs  as  to  ourselves— but  there 
were  unmistakable  signs  of  approaching  lunch- 
eon. My  first  call  to  my  dog  was,  therefore,  un- 
heeded :  he  had  suddenly  conceived  a  violent  af- 
fection for  another  dog,  with  whom,  by  the  way, 
he  could  never  on  ordinary  occasions  agree,  and 
in  the  interchange  of  friendly  confidences  was 
quite  abstracted  from  the  outer  world. 

"A  more  imperative  summons  made  him  start 

a  very  false  move;  but  he  at  once  compen- 
sated for  it  by  facing  round  sharply  in  the  op- 
posite direction  to  me,  and  looking  anxiously  up 


CHEATERT. 


77 


the  drive  instead  of  down,  with  his  head  and  ears 
up,  as  if  he  rather  expected  to  see  me  at  the  end 
of  it,  about  half  a  mile  off.  However,  it  would 
not  do,  and  he  was  reduced  to  following  me, 
though  he  kept  to  heel  with  drooping  head  and 
tail,  and  many  a  wistful  look  behind. 

"We  had  hardly  got  well  out  of  the  sight  of 
the  keepers  when  he  suddenly  brightened  up,  as 
though  he  thought  life  had  yet  some  joys  in  store 
for  him,  trotted  on  in  front,  and  behaved  himself 
as  usual.  Suddenly,  just  a  few  yards  from  the 
exit  from  the  covert,  he  '  made  a  point'  at  a  soli- 
tary tuft  of  grass  and  rushes.  I  was  astonished 
that  a  rabbit  could  be  harbored  there,  as  we  had 
but  just  passed  over  the  very  spot  with  a  regular 
array  of  dogs  and  beaters  ;  but  Sambo  said  '  rab- 
bit' as  plainly  as  possible:  so  in  went  my  car- 
tridges again,  and  the  necessary  permission  was 
given. 

"To  my  astonishment,  no  rabbit  appeared; 
but  none  the  less  Mr.  Sambo  went  through  all 
the  regulation  mano3uvres  formulated  and  pro- 
vided in  such  cases.  He  dashed  into  the  tuft, 
came  out  the  other  side  as  if  in  full  chase,  yelped 
as  if  he  were  only  just  out  of  biting  distance  of 
his  prey,  and  was  lost  to  sight  in  a  moment ;  and 
what  is  more,  he  returned  not.  I  whistled  and 
called,  but  no  sound  could  be  heard.  Suddenly 
his  '  little  game'  flashed  upon  me.  I  went  back 
to  the  keepers,  and  there  was  my  friend  taking 
his  luncheon  affably  with  one  of  them — a  partic- 
ular friend.  With  the  utmost  respect  for  his 
mental  resources,  I  yet  thought  it  necessary  to 
be  *  firm'  with  him,  and  I  do  not  think  he  will 
ever  play  me  that  trick  again. " 

One  of  the  most  amusing  anecdotes  of  attempt- 
ed cheatery  is  narrated  of  an  elephant  by  Lady 
Barker : 

"When  we  paid  them  a  visit  upon  the  after- 
noon of  the  storm,  the  huge  beasts  were  taking 
a  bath,  or  rather  giving.it  to  themselves  by  filling 
their  trunks  with  water  and  dashing  it  over  their 
heads,  trumpeting  and  enjoying  themselves  im- 
mensely. At  a  little  distance  the  cooks  were 
busy  baking  the  chupatties — a  muffin  as  large  as 
a  soup-plate,  and  nearly  as  thick — in  mud  ovens  ; 
and  the  grass-cutters  had  been  down  to  a  'jhed,' 
or  pond,  near,  to  wash  the  dust  off  the  large  bun- 
dles of  grass  for  the  elephants'  suppers.  We  talk- 
ed a  little  to  the  mahouts,  and  one  very  pictur- 
esque old  man  seemed  exceedingly  proud  of  his 
elephant's  superior  slyness  and  cunning,  and  beg- 
ged us  to  stay  and  see  him  '  cheat.'  So  we  wait- 
ed till '  Burra  Sahib,'  or  '  Mr.  Large,'  had  finish- 
ed his  bath  and  came  slowly  up  to  the  mahout 
for  his  supper. 


"The  mahout  called  out  to  the  cook  to  bring 
the  chupatties,  and  made  us  retire  behind  a  tree 
and  watch  what  Burra  Sahib  did.  As  soon  as 
the  cook  went  away,  the  elephant  put  up  his 
trunk  and  broke  off  a  large  bough  of  the  tree 
above  him.  This  they  generally  do  to  serve  as 
a  brush  to  keep  off  flies,  so  he  knew  that  was 
nothing  remarkable.  He  then  looked  slyly 
around  him  with  his  bright,  little,  cunning  eyes ; 
and  as  he  could  not  see  his  mahout,  he  thought 
the  coast  was  clear,  and  hastily  snatched  up  a 
chupattie,  v/hich  he  put  under  the  branch  on  the 
top  of  his  head.  I  noticed  how  carefully  he  felt 
with  his  flexible  trunk  if  any  edge  was  uncov- 
ered, and  arranged  the  leaves  so  as  to  hide  his 
spoil  completely. 

"Burra  Sahib  then  raised  his  voice  and  bel- 
lowed for  his  supper  in  loud  and  discordant  tones. 
The  mahout  then  ran  up  as  if  he  had  been  a 
long  distance  off,  stood  in  front  of  him,  and  com- 
menced handing  him  the  chupatties,  counting,  as 
he  did  so,  one,  two,  three,  and  so  on.  The  ele- 
phant received  each  in  his  trunk,  and  put  it  gen- 
tly into  his  huge  mouth,  bolting  it  as  though  it 
had  been  a  small  pill.  Twelve  chupatties  was 
the  allowance,  and  he  required  this  sort  of  food 
to  keep  him  in  good  condition.  When  the  ma- 
hout came  to  number  eleven  muffin  he  looked 
about  for  the  twelfth  in  great  dismay,  pretending 
that  he  could  not  think  what  had  become  of  it, 
and  calling  for  the  cook  to  scold  him,  search- 
ing on  the  ground,  and  wondering,  in  good  Hin- 
dostanee,  where  that  other  chupattie  could  be. 
The  elephant  joined  in  the  search,  turning  over 
an  empty  box  which  was  near,  and  trumpeting 
loudly. 

' '  The  mahout  was  delighted  to  see  how  much 
this  farce  amused  me,  and  at  last  he  turned  sud- 
denly to  the  elephant,  who  was  still  hunting  ea- 
gerly for  the  missing  chupattie,  and  reviled  him 
as  a  thief  and  a  '  big  owl, '  adding  all  sorts  of 
epithets,  and  desiring  him  to  kneel  down,  which 
Burra  Sahib  did  very  reluctantly.  The  mahout 
then  scrambled  up  on  his  head,  snatched  off  the 
branch,  and  flung  down  the  chupattie,  belabor- 
ing the  elephant  well  with  the  bough  which  had 
served  to  conceal  it.  It  seems  that  the  trick 
had  been  played  successfully  many  times  before 
Burra  Sahib  was  found  out,  and  the  poor  cook 
used  to  get  into  trouble,  and  be  accused  of  keep- 
ing the  missing  chupattie  for  his  own  private 
consumption." 

A  servant  belonging  to  one  of  my  friends  act- 
ed just  like  this  elephant.  She  had  broken  a 
valuable  China  vase,  and  in  order  to  hide  the  evi- 
dences of  her  delinquency  she  broke  up  the  frag- 
ments very  small  and  buried  them.  When  the 


78 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


vase  was  missed,  she  protested  that  she  knew 
nothing  about  it.  She  knew  that  such  a  vase 
was  somewhere  in  the  house,  but  had  not  the 
least  idea  where  it  could  be ;  and  for  three 
whole  days  she  went  over  the  house  with  her 
mistress,  hunting  in  every  cupboard  and  on  every 
shelf  for  the  article  which  she  had  herself  buried 
in  the  garden. 

Birds  can  be  capable  of  cheating,  not  only 
each  other,  but  other  animals.  Even  the  pretty 
little  golden-crested  wren  has  been  detected  in 
deliberate  theft  and  deception. 

A  gentleman  was  watching  a  chaffinch  build- 
ing its  beautiful  nest,  and  soon  found  that  he  was 
not  the  only  spectator.  At  a  distance  was  perch- 
ed a  golden-crested  wren,  which  watched  the  pro- 
ceedings carefully.  As  soon  as  the  chaffinch 
went  off  to  fetch  more  materials,  the  gold-crest 
cunningly  stole  round  in  an  opposite  direction, 
and  carried  off  the  newly  brought  hairs,  etc.,  for 
its  own  nest.  This  went  on  for  some  time,  until 
at  last  the  aggrieved  chaffinch  found  out  the  rob- 
bery, and  chased  the  gold-crest  so  fiercely  that  it 
did  not  attempt  to  renew  the  theft. 

This  story  is  told  by  Mr.  W.  Thompson,  in 
his  "  Natural  History  of  Ireland."  He  also  states 
that  this  kind  of  robbery  is  not  at  all  uncommon 
with  the  gold -crest.  Its  nest  is  made  of  the 
same  material  as  that  of  the  chaffinch,  and  so  it 
is  accustomed  to  avail  itself  of  the  labors  of  that 
bird  in  order  to  lighten  its  own  toil. 

The  celebrated  arctic  voyager,  the  late  Sir 
L.  M'Clintock,  mentions  a  curious  instance  of 
stealing  on  the  part  of  the  raven.  When  they 
were  in  Mercer  Bay,  a  pair  of  ravens,  probably 
male  and  female,  used  to  hang  about  the  ship, 
and  pick  up  any  refuse  food  that  might  be  lying 
about.  At  a  certain  hour  of  the  day  the  men 
were  accustomed  to  wash  out  their  mess-tins,  the 
rejected  contents  of  which  were  regarded  by  the 
ship's  dog  as  his  proper  perquisites.  The  ravens, 
however,  held  a  different  opinion,  and  by  force 


of  superior  intellect  almost  always  contrived  to 
gain  their  own  ends. 

As  soon  as  the  tins  were  emptied,  and  the  dog 
ready  for  his  meal,  the  ravens  set  to  work  to 
cheat  him  out  of  his  food.  They  assaulted  him 
from  the  front,  keeping  him  from  his  food  by 
perpetual  annoyance,  and  at  last  induced  him  to 
make  a  charge  at  them.  Of  course,  after  the 
manner  of  ravens,  they  contrived  to  flap  their 
way  just  out  of  his  reach.  This  process  was  re- 
peated until  they  had  inveigled  him  to  a  consid- 
erable distance,  when  they  took  to  wing,  and  be- 
ing able  to  fly  faster  than  the  dog  could  run, 
managed  to  secure  a  good  meal  before  he  could 
reach  them. 

It  is  evident  that  they  must  have  concerted 
this  plan  of  action  between  them ;  so  that  we 
see  in  this  ruse  an  example  of  reason  and  the 
communication  of  ideas  by  means  of  language. 
My  readers  may  perhaps  remember  the  story  of 
the  two  dogs  who  used  to  hunt  the  hare  in  con- 
cert, the  one  starting  the  hare  and  driving  it  to- 
ward the  spot  where  the  accomplice  lay  hidden. 
I  knew  of  an  instance  where  a  somewhat  simi- 
lar arrangement  was  made;  only  in  this  case 
the  two  contracting  parties,  instead  of  being  two 
dogs,  were  a  dog  and  a  raven,  the  latter  making 
use  of  its  wings  in  driving  the  prey  out  of  the 
heather  into  the  open  ground. 

Many  instances  of  such  alliances  are  known, 
and  in  all  of  them  there  is  the  curious  fact  that 
two  animals  can  arrange  a  mode  of  cheating  a 
third.  In  fact  they  employ  one  of  the  principal 
stratagems  in  the  art  of  war,  z.  e.,  the  ambuscade, 
or  inducing  the  enemy  to  believe  that  danger  is 
imminent  in  one  direction,  whereas  it  really  lies 
in  the  opposite  and  unsuspected  direction.  No 
one  would  say  that  a  general  who  contrived  to 
draw  the  enemy  into  an  ambuscade  acted  by  in- 
stinct :  the  act  would  be  accepted  as  a  proof  of 
reasoning  powei-s  surpassing  those  of  his  adver- 
sary. And  if  this  be  the  case  with  the  man,  why 
not  with  the  dog,  when  the  deception  is  carried 
out  by  precisely  the  same  train  of  reasoning  ? 


HUMOR. 


79 


CHAPTER  X. 


HUMOR. 

Practical  Joking  the  Lowest  Kind  of  Humor.— Torture  the  Humor  of  the  Savage.— Spinning  Cockchafers. 
—Making  a  Boy  "Jump  like  a  Dog."— Humor  in  Birds.— The  "Chukor"  Partridge  and  the  "Punkah- 
wallah." — Humor  in  the  Buzzard. — The  Kestrel's  Idea  of  Humor. — The  Humorous  Heron. — "Making 
Believe"  in  Children  and  Animals.— Swallows  Mobbing  a  Kestrel — The  Same  Birds  Mobbing  a  Hare.— 
Swallows  Mobbing  a  Cat.— Spar-Ousels  Mobbing  a  Cat.— Jackdaws  Doing  the  Same.— Ring-Doves  Mob- 
bing a  Dog.— Monkeys  and  Crocodiles.— A  Cock  Tantalizing  the  Hens  with  Food,  and  Eating  it  Himself. 
—Sense  of  Humor  in  the  Parrot.— A  Cat  Deceived  by  a  Parrot.— The  Peacock  and  the  Poultry.— Humor 
in  the  Emeu. — Humor  in  the  Mooruk. — A  Dog  and  his  Practical  Jokes. — A  Horse  Playing  Practical  Jokes 
on  a  Boy.— Mr.  G.'s  Pony.— Horses  Chasing  a  Pig.— Animals  Joining  in  Children's  Sports.— A  Dog  Play- 
ing at  "Touch."— A  Pony  and  a  Cat  Playing  " Hide-and-Seek "  with  the  Children.— "Peter,"  the  Field- 
Mouse,  Playing  the  Same  Game.— A  Mischievous  Canary.— The  Bullfinch  and  the  Work-box.— Practical 
Jokes  Played  by  "  Ungka,"  the  Siamese  Ape.— Sense  of  Humor  in  the  Next  World. 


AMONG  other  traits  of  character  which  are 
common  to  man  and  beast  is  the  sense  of  hu- 
mor. 

This  is  developed  in  various  ways.  Mostly  it 
assumes  the  form  of  teasing  or  annoying  others, 
and  deriving  amusement  from  their  discomfort. 
This  is  the  lowest  form  of  humor,  and  is  popu- 
larly known  among  ourselves  as  practical  joking. 
Sometimes,  both  with  man  and  beast,  it  takes 
the  form  of  bodily  torture,  the  struggles  of  the 
victim  being  highly  amusing  to  the  torturer. 
Civilized  man  has  now  learned  to  consider  the 
infliction  of  pain  upon  another  as  any  thing  but 
an  amusement,  and  would  sooner  suffer  the  ag- 
ony than  inflict  it  upon  a  fellow  -  creature.  But 
to  the  savage  there  is  no  entertainment  so  fasci- 
nating as  the  infliction  of  bodily  pain  upon  a  hu- 
man being. 

Take,  for  example,  the  North  American  In- 
dian tribes,  among  whom  the  torture  is  a  solemn 
,  usage  of  war,  which  every  warrior  expects  for 
himself  if  captured,  and  is  certain  to  inflict  upon 
any  prisoner  whom  he  may  happen  to  take. 
The  ingenuity  with  which  the  savage  wrings 
every  nerve  of  the  human  frame,  and  kills  his 
victim  by  sheer  pain,  is  absolutely  fiendish ;  and 
yet  the  whole  tribe  assemble  around  the  stake, 
and  gloat  upon  the  agonies  which  are  being  en- 
dured by  a  fellow -creature.  Similarly  the  Af- 
rican savage  tortures  either  man  or  woman  who 
is  accused  of  witchcraft,  employing  means  which 
are  too  horrible  to  be  mentioned. 

Yet  even  in  these  cases  the  cruelty  seems  to  be 
in  a  great  degree  owing  to  obtuseness  of  percep- 
tion ;  and  the  savage  who  ties  his  prisoner  to  a 


stake,  and  perforates  all  the  sensitive  parts  of  his 
body  with  burning  pine -splinters,  acts  very  much 
like  a  child  who  amuses  itself  by  catching  flies, 
pulling  off  their  wings  and  legs,  and  watching 
their  unavailing  efforts  to  escape.  I  do  not  know 
whether  it  is  the  case  now  or  not,  but  some 
twenty  years  ago  I  saw  cockchafers  publicly  sold 
in  Paris  for  children  to  torture  to  death ;  the 
amusement  being  to  run  a  hooked  pin  through 
its  tail,  tie  a  thread  to  it,  and  see  the  poor 
insect  spin  in  the  air.  After  it  was  too  enfee- 
bled to  spread  its  wings,  it  was  slowly  dismem- 
bered, the  child  being  greatly  amused  at  its  en- 
deavors to  crawl,  as  leg  after  leg  was  pulled 
off.  I  rescued  many  of  these  wretched  insects 
from  the  thoughtlessly  cruel  children,  and  re- 
leased them  from  their  sufferings  by  instantane- 
ous death. 

In  Italy  a  similar  custom  prevails,  though  in 
a  more  cruel  form,  the  creatures  which  are  tor- 
tured by  way  of  sport  being  more  capable  of  suffer- 
ing pain  than  are  insects.  Birds  are  employed 
for  the  amusement  of  children,  just  as  are  the 
cockchafers  in  France.  A  string  is  tied  to  the 
leg,  and  the  unfortunate  bird,  after  its  powers  of 
flight  are  exhausted,  is  generally  plucked  alive 
and  dismembered. 

It  is  not  done  from  any  idea  of  cruelty,  but 
from  sheer  incapacity  to  understand  that  a  bird 
or  a  beast  can  be  a  fellow-  creature.  The  Ital- 
ians are  notorious  for  their  cruel  treatment  of 
animals ;  and  if  remonstrance  be  made,  they  are 
quite  astonished,  and  reply,  "Non  e  Cristiano" 
(It  is  not  a  Christian). 

Not  that  we   in   England   have  very   much 


80 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


to  boast  of  on  this  score.  The  Puritans  did  a 
good  work  when  they  abolished  bear-baiting, 
even  though,  as  Macaulay  says,  they  did  so  not 
because  it  gave  pain  to  the  bear,  but  because  it 
gave  pleasure  to  the  spectators.  But  up  to  the 
present  day  there  is  a  latent  hankering  after  sim- 
ilar scenes,  even  though  they  are  now  contrary 
to  law ;  and  dog -fighting,  cock-fighting,  badger- 
drawing,  and  rat -killing  are  still  practiced  in 
secret,  though  they  can  not  be  carried  on  in 
public. 

Mr.  W.  Reade,  in  his  work  on  ' '  Savage  Africa, " 
mentions  a  case  in  which  a  woman  and  her  son, 
a  young  boy,  were  put  to  death  on  a  suspicion  of 
witchcraft.  The  woman  was  drowned,  and  the 
boy  burned  alive ;  sundiy  packets  of  gunpowder 
being  tied  to  his  legs,  which  made  him  "jump 
like  a  dog" — thus  causing  great  amusement  to  his 
torturers.  Mr.  Reade  remonstrated  with  them 
upon  their  cruelty,  but  they  could  not  be  made 
to  see  that  there  was  any  more  cruelty  in  the  fate 
of  the  son  than  in  that  of  the  mother.  The  nar- 
rator was  astounded  at  the  very  notion.  ' '  Bum- 
ing  more  bad !  No,  Mr.  Reade,  burning  and 
drowning  all  the  same."  The  cruelty  was  not 
intentional — it  was  simply  want  of  understanding. 
To  see  the  boy  "jump  like  a  dog"  was  highly 
amusing  to  the  spectators,  and  they  never  trou- 
bled themselves  about  the  fact  that  the  ludicrous 
contortions  were  caused  by  terrible  pain.  Sav- 
ages are  in  many  points  nothing  but  children, 
and  they  act  after  childish  manners,  but  with  the 
powers  of  men  for  evil. 

For  example,  the  poor  little  boy  of  seven  years 
of  age  who  was  afterward  so  cruelly  burped  alive 
was  subjected  at  the  hands  of  his  captors  to  a 
species  of  humor  which  was  vastly  entertaining 
to  them.  "  On  the  ground  crouched  the  child, 
the  marks  of  a  severe  wound  visible  on  his  arm, 
and  his  wrists  bound  together  by  a  piece  of  withy. 
I  shall  never  forget  that  child's  face.  It  wore 
that  expression  of  passive  endurance  which  is  one 
of  the  traditional  characteristics  of  the  savage. 
While  I  was  there,  one  of  the  men  held  an  axe 
below  his  eyes :  it  was  the  brute's  idea  of  hu- 
mor." 

In  a  similar  manner,  the  sense  of  humor  is  most- 
ly developed  in  the  lower  animals  by  causing  pain 
or  annoyance  to  some  other  creature,  and  the 
animal  acts  in  precisely  the  same  manner  as  a 
savage  or  a  child. 

We  will  just  take  a  few  cases  of  humor  as  ex- 
hibited by  birds. 

As  might  be  expected  from  the  character  of 
the  birds,  sparrows  will  gratify  their  feelings  of 
dislike  by  uniting  together  for  the  purpose  of 
mobbing  some  creature  to  which  they  have  an 


objection.  There  is  a  short  account  in  Hard- 
wicke's  Science  Gossip  for  December,  1872,  of  a 
number  of  sparrows  mobbing  a  cat. 

The  cat  evidently  intended  to  make  a  meal  on 
one  of  the  birds,  but  was  greatly  mistaken ;  for 
the  sparrows  dashed  at  him  so  fiercely  that  he 
soon  turned  tail  and  ran  into  the  house,  one  of 
the  sparrows  actually  pursuing  him  into  the 
house.  Poor  Tommy  ran  up -stairs,  and  was 
found  crouching  in  terror  under  one  of  the  beds. 
This  happened  in  London,  where,  by  the  way, 
sparrows  are  much  less  numerous  than  they  used 
to  be :  this,  I  believe,  is  chiefly  if  not  entirely 
due  to  the  staff  of  street -cleaning  boys,  who  re- 
move the  substances  from  which  the  sparrows 
used  to  derive  the  greater  part  of  their  subsist- 
ence. 

An  account  of  a  somewhat  similar  adventure 
is  given  in  the  Dumfries  and  Galloway  Stand- 
ard. 

In  the  year  1856  a  number  of  "rooks"  were  in 
the  habit  of  assembling  on  a  house,  and  it  was 
thought  that  they  had  nests  there.  One  day  a 
cat  came  prowling  over  the  roof,  to  the  great  dis- 
comfiture of  the  rooks,  who  assembled  on  the  roof 
of  a  neighboring  house  and  held  a  consultation. 
This  being  over,  they  proceeded  systematically  to 
attack  the  foe,  dashing  at  her  in  groups  of  three 
or  four,  flapping  their  wings  in  her  very  face, 
and  screaming  dismally. 

As  for  the  cat,  though  a  young  one,  she  was 
not  in  the  least  dismayed,  her  courage  rising  to 
the  occasion. 

"It  then,"  writes  a  spectator  of  the  scene, 
"looked  the  very  image  of  defiance ;  and  a  more 
graceful  figure  of  a  cat  we  never  saw  when,  in 
fighting  attitude,  it  strained  its  head  and  struck 
out  its  dexter  paw.  The  cat  frequently  changed 
its  position,  with  the  view,  we  suppose,  of  doing 
its  best  to  bring  itself  into  closer  quarters  with 
the  crows ;  but  in  vain.  They  kept  up  a  shower 
of  abusive  language,  and  occasionally  almost 
grazed  the  head  of  Grimalkin  with  their  feathers, 
but  they  never  ventured  going  within  her  reach. 
Puss  mewed  impatiently  at  times,  as  much  as  to 
say,  '  Oh  that  I  had  wings  for  a  few  minutes,  and 
then  I  would  put  an  end  to  your  noise  and  blus- 
ter.' 

"This  skirmish  between  this  valorous  cat  and 
the  crows  lasted  fully  half  an  hour,  and  ended  in 
a  sort  of  drawn  battle.  The  cat  would  have  kept 
the  castle  long  enough,  in  despite  of  them ;  but  it 
could  neither  get  hold  of  them  nor  their  nests,  so 
it  at  length  quietly  descended." 

In  his  "Natural  History  of  Ireland,"  Mr. 
Thompson  records  a  case  where  that  rather  rare 
bird,  the  ring-ousel,  mobbed  and  drove  away  a  dog. 


HUMOR. 


81 


Mr.  Thompson  was  shooting  in  the  Crow  Glen, 
accompanied  by  his  pointer,  which  was  some 
yards  in  advance.  Suddenly  the  dog  was  at- 
tacked by  two  male  ring -ousels,  which  dashed 
at  its  head,  accompanying  each  stroke  with  loud 
shrieks.  They  were  incited  to  this  action  by  a 
female,  which,  after  setting  them  at  the  dog,  re- 
tired to  a  distance  and  looked  on  at  the  fight. 
The  dog  was  so  alarmed  by  the  attack  of  the 
birds  that  he  was  obliged  to  retreat  to  his  mas- 
ter. The  birds  were  so  determined  in  their 
onset  that  they  even  attacked  Mr.  Thompson 
and  two  of  his  friends,  who  were  accompanying 
him. 

Had  these  birds  been  male  and  female,  it  might 
have  been  thought  that  they  were  defending  their 
young,  or  trying  to  decoy  the  dog  from  their  nest ; 
but  they  were  both  males,  and  in  their  adult  plum- 
age. The  action  lasted  for  more  than  a  quarter 
of  an  hour. 

All  those  who  have  watched  the  habits  of  an- 
imals must  have  remarked  how  widely  spread 
among  them  is  this  species  of  humor — namely, 
annoying  and  insulting  a  stronger  being  than 
themselves  whenever  they  think  that  they  can 
do  so  with  impunity.  And  so  strong  is  the  im- 
pulse to  gratify  their  sense  of  humor  that  they 
do  not  hesitate  to  do  so  at  the  risk  of  their  lives. 
M.  Mouhot,  in  his  work  on  "Indo-China  and 
Cambodia,"  mentions  that  he  has  often  witnessed 
very  amusing  scenes  between  the  monkey  and 
the  crocodile. 

The  latter  animal  is  lying  half  asleep  on  the 
bank,  and  is  espied  by  the  monkeys.  They  seem 
to  consult  together,  approach,  draw  back,  and  at 
last  proceed  to  overt  acts  of  annoyance.  If  a 
monkey  can  find  a  convenient  branch,  he  goes 
along  it,  swings  himself  down,  hangs  by  a  hand 
or  a  foot,  slaps  the  crocodile  on  the  nose,  and  in- 
stantly scrambles  up  the  branch  out  of  the  rep- 
tile's reach.  Sometimes,  when  no  branch  is  suf- 
ficiently near,  several  monkeys  will  hang  to  each 
other  so  as  to  make  a  chain,  and,  swinging  back- 
ward and  forward  over  the  crocodile's  head,  the 
lowermost  monkey  will  torment  the  reptile  to  his 
heart's  content.  The  cream  of  the  joke  is  when 
the  crocodile  is  at  last  so  irritated  that  it  opens 
its  enormous  jaws,  makes  a  vicious  snap  at  the 
monkey,  and  just  misses  him.  Whenever  this 
happy  event  occurs,  there  are  screams  and  chat- 
terings  of  exultation  from  the  monkeys,  and  a 
vast  number  of  joyful  gambols  executed  among 
the  branches. 

Of  course,  according  to  the  old  proverb,  the 
pitcher  may  go  too  often  to  the  well;  and  it 
does  occasionally  happen  that  the  monkey  does 
F 


not  escape  in  time,  and  is  ingulfed  in  the  croco- 
dile's jaws.  Whereupon  the  cries  of  exultation 
are  changed  into  groans  and  shrieks  of  terror, 
and  the  whole  assembly  make  off  as  fast  as  they 
can.  But  experience  does  not  teach  them  dis- 
cretion, and  in  two  or  three  days  they  will  be  at 
the  same  game  again. 

In  Mr.  T.  C.  Jerdon's  "  Birds  of  India"  there  is 
an  amusing  notice  of  the  habits  of  the  Chukor 
partridge  (Caccabis  Chukor)  when  domesticat- 
ed. It  is  very  tame  and  familiar,  and  some- 
times becomes  rather  a  nuisance  on  account  of 
its  habit  of  playing  tricks  on  people.  It  has  a 
special  facility  in  discovering  the  most  vulnerable 
spot,  and  inflicts  sly  pecks  at  the  bare  feet  of  the 
native  servants  as  they  move  through  the  house. 
Its  great  amusement,  however,  is  to  find  the  man 
who  pulls  the  punkah  half  asleep,  as  is  customary 
with  these  men  as  they  rock  backward  and  for- 
ward at  their  monotonous  task.  The  little  bird 
pecks  his  legs  so  fiercely  and  actively  that  he  is 
quite  unable  to  drive  it  away  and  go  on  with  his 
work,  and  he  is  at  last  obliged  to  call  for  some 
one  to  rid  him  of  his  tormentor. 

A  somewhat  similar  custom  is  related  by  Mr. 
Thompson,  in  his  "Natural  History  of  Ireland," 
the  bird  in  this  case  being  a  tame  buzzard.  It 
had  a  way  of  flying  after  strangers,  and  knocking 
their  hats  over  their  eyes  with  a  blow  of  its  wing ; 
and  it  was  so  quick  about  it  that,  even  when  fore- 
warned, its  victim  had  some  difficulty  in  evading 
the  blow.  The  same  bird  took  an  objection  to 
the  bow  of  its  master's  shoe-ties,  and  used  to  fly 
at  his  feet  and  suddenly  untie  the  strings. 

I  am  personally  acquainted  with  a  heron  in 
which  this  form  of  humor  is  largely  developed. 

The  bird  was  in  one  sense  tame,  for  it  was  al- 
lowed to  run  loose  in  a  garden,  and  was  on  the 
most  affectionate  terms  of  friendship  with  one  of 
the  men  employed  in  its  owner's  warehouse.  It 
is  really  beautiful  to  see  the  welcome  which  the 
bird  gives  to  the  man,  and  to  hear  her  low,  lov- 
ing gabble  as  she  rubs  her  head  against  him,  or 
takes  his  hand  gently  in  her  beak.  He  has 
taught  her  several  tricks,  as,  for  example,  to 
take  off  his  hat  at  the  word  of  command.  She 
is  a  beautiful  creature ;  and  if  the  sense  of  hu- 
mor were  not  quite  so  strong,  she  would  be  an 
admirable  bird.  Unfortunately,  she  has  an  un- 
appeasable relish  for  practical  jokes,  especially 
against  human  beings,  looking  quite  soft  and 
gentle  until  they  are  within  reach,  and  then 
driving  her  long,  sharp  beak  at  them  with  the 
rapidity  of  a  serpent's  stroke. 

On  one  occasion  her  sense  of  humor  was  de- 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


veloped  to  such  an  extent  as  to  cost  the  loss  of 
her  liberty. 

The  garden  in  which  she  lives  is  also  inhabited 
by  a  great  number  of  aquatic  birds,  principally 
gulls  and  ducks,  and  they  have  a  way  of  laying 
their  eggs  in  different  parts  of  the  garden.  One 
day  a  learned  and  respected  neighbor  went  into 
the  garden,  and,  seeing  some  ducks'  eggs  on  the 
ground,  stooped  down  to  examine  them.  As  he 
was  thus  engaged,  the  heron  stole  up  softly  be- 
hind him,  and  delivered  so  tremendous  a  blow 
that  she  fairly  knocked  him  on  his  face. 

The  unfortunate  gentleman,  knowing  that  the 
heron  has  an  unpleasant  way  of  pecking  at  eyes, 
crouched  as  closely  to  the  ground  as  he  could, 
sheltering  his  eyes  with  his  arms,  and  calling  for 
help  as  loudly  as  he  could  in  such  a  position. 
The  heron,  enjoying  the  joke  immensely,  mount- 
ed on  his  back,  and  triumphantly  maintained  her 
post  there  until  assistance  arrived,  and  she  was 
driven  off. 

Since  that  exploit  she  has  not  been  allowed  to 
run  loose,  but  has  been  confined  in  a  roomy  cage, 
in  which  she  can  run  about.  Even  under  these 
circumstances  she  delights  in  enticing  people  to 
come  near  the  cage,  and  then  darting  her  beak 
at  them  between  the  bars — a  joke  which  she  has 
several  times  played  at  my  expense.  The  dis- 
tance to  which  she  can  project  her  beak  is  quite 
marvelous,  and  it  is  no  difficult  matter  for  the 
bird  to  decoy  too  confiding  persons  within  her 
reach. 

Humor,  indeed,  seems  to  be  a  special  charac- 
teristic of  the  hawk  tribe.  I  knew  a  tame  spar- 
row-hawk which  was  always  trying  to  circum- 
vent a  magpie  belonging  to  the  same  house ;  and 
the  extraordinary  ingenuity  which  these  birds 
showed  in  playing  practical  jokes  on  each  other 
could  not  have  been  surpassed  by  human  beings. 
In  Hardwicke's  Science  Gossip  of  March,  1871, 
there  is  an  account  of  a  tame  kestrel  which  show- 
ed a  similar  sense  of  humor  : 

"  Insects  of  all  sizes  and  kinds  were  summarily 
devoured,  and  I  have  more  than  once  captured 
wingless  females  and  imperfectly  formed  moths 
unable  to  fly,  by  finding  her  dancing  round  them 
in  their  endeavors  to  escape,  and  with  a  gentle 
nibble  giving  them  a  hint  to  run  faster.  When 
the  poor  insects  were  too  maimed  or  exhausted  to 
crawl  farther,  the  sport  being  ended,  they  were 
eaten  without  further  delay.  Indeed,  she  ap- 
pears quite  indignant  with  spiders,  because,  in- 
stead of  hurrying  off,  they  lie  down  and  curl 
themselves  up." 

Here  we  have  an  instance  of  a  bird  dealing 
with  an  insect  just  as  the  French  children  dealt 


with  the  cockchafers,  neither  bird  nor  children 
having  the  least  idea  that  the  struggles  which 
amused  them  so  much  were  the  result  of  pain. 

The  same  bird,  if  she  could  find  neither  mouse 
nor  insect,  would  pounce  on  a  piece  of  brick  or 
stone,  and  carry  it  off  in  her  claws,  making  be- 
lieve that  it  was  prey  of  some  sort.  She  carried 
on  this  pretense  to  such  an  extent  that  she  would ' 
resent  any  interference,  and  would  fight  for  her 
piece  of  brick  as  fiercely  as  if  it  had  been  a  mouse, 
of  the  delicacy  of  which  she  was  most  fond.  Xo 
child  could  have  "pretended"  with  more  aban- 
donment than  she  did,  and  the  bird  which  ' '  made 
believe  "  that  the  piece  of  brick  was  a  mouse,  and 
the  child  who  "makes  believe"  that  a  piece  of 
stick  is  a  baby,  are  for  the  time,  and  on  that 
point,  precisely  on  a  level. 

The  following  account  of  bird  humor,  as  dis- 
played in  practical  joking,  is  taken  from  Hard- 
wicke's Science  Gossip  of  March,  1872 : 

"I  have  imbibed  many  of  the  tastes  of  Gilbert 
White ;  but  that  which  engrosses  me  most,  and 
which  I  may  call  my  hobby,  is  the  natural  his- 
tory of  the  swallow  tribe. 

"I  have  read  that  swallows  will  'mob'  and 
put  to  flight  a  kestrel-hawk.  This  I  was  rather 
skeptical  of  until  lately,  when  my  doubts  were 
removed  by  that  most  convincing  of  proofs,  ocu- 
lar demonstration.  I  had  gone  to  see  an  old 
castle  in  the  neighborhood,  which  was  built  on 
the  only  hill  for  miles  around,  and  was  therefore 
tolerably  certain  to  be  the  haunt  of  a  pair  or  two 
of  hawks.  I  accordingly  kept  my  eyes  open,  in 
the  expectation  of  seeing  one,  and  I  was  soon  re- 
warded by  the  appearance  on  the  brow  of  the  hill 
of  a  bird  which,  by  its  graceful  form  and  the 
hovering  motion  of  its  wings,  I  knew  to  be  a 
kestrel. 

"His  active  little  enemies,  the  swallows,  a 
flock  of  which  were  disporting  themselves  close 
by,  had  been  as  quick  to  see  him  as  I.  These  at 
once  advanced  to  meet  the  intruder,  and.  with 
the  utmost  audacity,  brushed  past  him  in  all  di- 
rections, one  from  one  quarter  and  one  from  an- 
other, each  wheeling  after  it  had  swept  by,  and 
returning  to  the  charge,  while  the  hawk  made 
futile  dashes  now  and  again,  but  was  always  too 
late  to  do  any  damage  to  his  nimble  little  oppo- 
nents. . 

"At  last,  tired  of  waging  an  unequal  war,  and 
obliged  to  own  himself  conquered,  he  beat  a  hasty 
retreat.  He  was  not,  however,  allowed  to  get 
off  so  easily,  but  was  followed  up  by  his  victori- 
ous foes ;  and  the  apparent  mystery  of  such  little 
birds  proving  more  than  a  match  for  such  a  for- 
midable-looking antagonist,  armed  literally  cap- 


HUMOR. 


83 


a-pie,  as  he  was,  was  quite  cleared  up ;  for  as  he 
made  off',  evidently  at  his  best  speed,  the  swallows, 
with  the  utmost  ease,  when  left  at  an  apparently 
hopeless  distance  behind,  fetched  him  up,  then 
passed  him  (in  what  appeared  to  me  most  dan- 
gerous proximity),  wheeled  round,  met  him  on 
their  return  journey,  and  then,  taking  another 
sharp  turn  to  the  right  about,  repassed  him,  and 
continued  repeating  these  manoeuvres  a  dozen 
times  or  more. 

"The  solution  of  the  mystery  lay  in  their  ex- 
traordinary power  of  flight.  The  way  in  which 
the  swallows  made  straight  for  him,  apparently 
bent  on  a  personal  encounter,  and  then,  when  the 
kestrel  was  reckoning  on  clutching  them  in  his 
talons,  gliding  away  at  a  tangent,  was,  though 
no  doubt  tantalizing  to  the  hawk,  none  the  less 
amusing  and  interesting  to  me. 

"To  crown  all,  when  the  others  had  left  off 
the  chase,  presumably  not  thinking  it  worth  their 
while  to  pursue  any  farther,  it  was  curious  to 
watch  one  solitary  individual  carry  it  on  alone 
with  such  seemingly  unrelenting  vigor  that  he 
seemed  actuated  by  feelings  of  the  direst  re- 
venge. However  that  might  be,  the  swallow 
certainly  effectually  prevented  the  discomfited 
foe  from  pausing  in  his  enforced  retreat.  I 
watched  them  until  pursuers  and  pursued  both 
vanished  from  my  sight.  I  dare  say  the  little 
swallow  continued  the  pursuit  until  he  had  wea- 
ried and  exhausted  the  hawk. 

"On  another  occasion  I  witnessed  a  little  in- 
cident which  has,  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge, 
the  merit  of  novelty ;  and  so  I  hope  you  will  ex- 
cuse my  telling  it.  I  saw  a  hare  running  across 
a  large  park  by  the  way-side,  and  was  looking 
about  to  see  what  had  started  it,  but  could  not 
imagine  what  it  could  be,  as  neither  man  nor  dog 
was  in  sight.  It  started  again  (for  it  had  stopped 
and  sat  in  a  listening  attitude),  and  then  I  saw 
that  the  disturbers  were  a  flight  of  swallows, 
who  were  following  it  up  like  a  pack  of  hounds ; 
now  one  and  now  another  skimming  past  the 
hare's  ears  along  the  ground,  while  the  poor  tim- 
id creature  was  putting  its  best  leg  foremost; 
but  all  to  no  purpose,  for  its  relentless  torment- 
ors seemed  to  take  pleasure  in  its  fright,  and  to 
enjoy  the  sport  of  teasing  it. 

"  I  followed  the  little  group  until  an  undulation 
of  the  park  hid  it  from  my  view,  and  was  greatly 
surprised  to  see  the  dexterity  with  which  the 
swallows  calculated  their  distance  so  as  to  im- 
press the  hare  with  the  idea  they  were  flying 
straight  at  her,  and  yet,  when  they  were  on  the 
point  of  dashing  against  her,  took  a  sharp  turn, 
and  swept  off  in  a  curve,  to  renew  the  attack 
again  the  next  moment. 


"I  will  close  my  epistle  with  an  anecdote  re- 
lated by  the  Rev.  Philip  Skelton,  as  having  come 
under  his  own  observation,  which  seems  to  be  ap- 
propriate, and  which,  I  believe,  will  be  new  to 
most  if  not  all  your  readers.  I  give  it  in  his 
own  words : 

"'I  have  entertained  a  great  affection  and 
some  degree  of  esteem  for  swallows,  ever  since 
I  saw  a  remarkable  instance  of  their  sense  and 
humor  played  off  upon  a  cat  which  had,  upon  a 
very  fine  day,  rested  herself  upon  the  top  of  a 
gate-post,  as  if  in  contemplation,  when  ten  or  a 
dozen  swallows,  knowing  her  to  be  an  enemy, 
took  it  into  their  heads  to  tantalize  her  in  a  man- 
ner which  showed  a  high  degree  not  only  of  good 
sense  but  of  humor.  One  of  these  birds,  coming 
from  behind  her,  flew  close  by  her  ear,  and  she 
made  a  snap  at  it  with  her  paw,  but  it  was  too 
late.  Another  swallow,  in  five  or  six  seconds, 
did  the  same,  and  she  made  the  same  unsuccess- 
ful attempt  to  catch  it;  this  was  followed  by  a 
third,  and  so  on  to  the  number  just  mentioned ; 
and  every  one  as  it  passed  seemed  to  set  up  a 
laugh  at  the  disappointed  enemy  very  like  the 
laugh  of  a  young  child  when  tickled.  The  whole 
number,  following  one  another  at  the  distance  of 
about  three  yards,  formed  a  regular  circle  in  the 
air,  and  played  it  off  like  a  wheel  at  her  ears  for 
near  an  hour,  not  seemingly  at  all  alarmed  at  me, 
who  stood  within  six  or  seven  yards  of  the  post. 
I  enjoyed  this  sport  as  well  as  the  pretty  birds, 
till  the  cat,  tired  out  with  disappointment,  quitted 
the  gate-post,  as  much  huffed,  I  believe,  as  I  had 
been  diverted.'" 

The  habit  of  "mobbing"  seems  to  be  inherent 
in  animal  nature  generally,  and  is  even  found  in 
fishes,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  following  anecdote. 
It  is  related  by  Captain  Crow,  from  personal  ob- 
servation : 

"  One  morning  during  a  calm,  when  near  the 
Hebrides,  all  hands  were  called  up  at  3  A.M.  to 
witness  a  battle  between  several  of  the  fish  called 
threshers,  a  fox-shark,  and  some  sword-fish  on 
the  one  side,  and  an  enormous  whale  on  the 
other.  It  was  in  the  middle  of  summer,  and  the 
weather  being  clear,  and  the  fish  close  to  the  ves- 
sel, we  had  a  fine  opportunity  of  witnessing  the 
contest. 

"As  soon  as  the  whale's  back  appeared  above 
the  water,  the  threshers,  springing  several  yards 
into  the  air,  descended  with  great  violence  upon 
the  object  of  their  rancor,  and  inflicted  upon  him 
the  most  severe  slaps  with  their  long  tails,  the 
sound  of  which  resembled  the  report  of  muskets 
fired  at  a  distance. 

"  The  sword-fish,  in  their  turn,  attacked  the 


84   <:,, 

distressed  whale,  striking  it  from  below;  and  thus, 
beset  on  all  sides,  and  wounded,  where  the  poor 
creature  appeared  the  water  around  him  was 
dyed  with  blood. 

"In  this  manner  they  continued  tormenting 
and  wounding  him  for  many  hours,  until  we  lost 
sight  of  him,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  in  the  end 
they  completed  his  destruction." 

It  is  worthy  of  notice  that,  in  this  case,  a  tem- 
porary alliance  was  formed  between  fishes  belong- 
ing to  different  families.  The  sharks  and  sword- 
fishes  have  but  little  in  common,  and  yet  they 
united  in  order  to  attack  the  whale,  which  could 
not  have  done  any  harm  to  either  of  them.  It 
is  evident,  therefore,  that  fishes  must  be  able  to 
communicate  ideas  to  each  other,  and  to  act  upon 
those  ideas.  In  other  words,  they  possess  a  lan- 
guage which  is  intelligible  to  fishes  in  general,  and 
not  restricted  to  any  one  species.  It  is  absolute- 
ly inaudible  and  unintelligible  to  us,  but  that  it 
exists  is  an  absolute  certainty. 

A  still  more  curious  alliance  was  mentioned 
to  me  by  Captain  Scott,  R.N. — namely,  a  joint 
attack  upon  a  whale  by  the  grampus  and  sword- 
fish,  i.  e. ,  an  alliance  between  a  mammal  and  a 
fish  against  a  mammal. 

Birds  seem  to  be  great  adepts  in  the  art  of  tor- 
menting, and  this  talent  accordingly  shows  itself 
where  least  expected.  As  a  rule,  domestic  poult- 
ry are  remarkable  for  the  generosity  with  which 
the  master-bird  treats  his  inferiors :  he  will  scratch 
the  ground,  unearth  some  food,  and  then,  instead 
of  eating  it  himself,  will  call  some  of  his  favorites 
to  him,  and  give  to  them  the  delicacy  for  which 
he  had  labored.  But  I  knew  of  one  case — a  sol- 
itary one,  I  hope — where  the  cock  scratched  as 
usual,  called  his  wives,  and,  when  they  had  as- 
sembled round  him,  ate  the  morsel  himself.  It 
was  just  like  the  old  school  practical  joke.  Old 
boy  to  new  boy,  holding  out  an  apple :  "Do  you 
like  apples?"  New  boy  to  old  boy:  "Yes." 
Old  boy  to  new  boy :  "Then  see  me  eat  one." 

Parrots  are  possessed  of  a  very  strong  sense  of 
humor,  and  are  much  given  to  practical  joking, 
after  the  ways  of  mankind.  My  own  parrot  had 
a  bad  habit  of  whistling  for  the  dog,  and  then  en- 
joying the  animal's  discomfiture ;  and  there  have 
been  many  parrots  who  would  even  play  practical 
jokes  on  human  beings.  Dogs  and  cats,  how- 
ever, seem  to  be  the  principal  victims  of  the  par- 
rot's sense  of  humor. 

I  know  a  case  where  a  parrot  is  allowed  to 
about  the  house  as  it  likes.  In  that  house  there 
is  also  a  cat,  with  which  Polly  is  pleased  to  amuse 
herself.  One  day  when  the  cat  was  lying  asleep 
on  the  rug,  the  parrot  began  to  mew  and  scream 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


just  like  young  kittens  when  they  are  hurt.  Up 
jumped  the  cat,  and  rushed  in  frantic  haste  to 
her  beloved  offspring,  and  was  veiy  much  aston- 
ished to  find  them  all  safe  and  comfortably  asleep. 
She  then  returned  to  the  rug ;  but  as  soon  as  she 
had  curled  herself  up  and  settled  herself  com- 
fortably, the  parrot  recommenced  her  mewings 
and  cries,  and  in  this  way  contrived  to  dupe  the 
cat  three  times. 

Every  one  who  has  watched  the  habits  of  pea- 
cocks knows  the  peculiar  rustling  sound  which 
they  can  produce  by  shaking  the  feathers  of  their 
train.  One  of  these  birds,  which  inhabited  a 
large  yard  in  common  with  other  poultry,  was 
pleased  to  take  umbrage  at  the  chickens,  and 
amused  himself  by  driving  them  about,  and  not 
allowing  them  to  eat  their  food.  His  crowning 
joke  was  to  drive  them  all  into  a  comer,  spread 
his  train,  and  rustle  the  feathers  over  their  heads 
so  as  to  frighten  them. 

All  birds  of  the  gallinaceous  order  are  hor- 
ribly alarmed  at  any  thing  that  appears  above 
them,  probably  owing  to  their  instinct  which 
teaches  them  to  beware  of  a  bird  of  prey.  Sports- 
men who  have  found  the  birds  become  wild  and 
wary  toward  the  end  of  the  summer  are  well 
aware  of  this  fact,  and  by  flying  a  common  paper 
kite  are  enabled  to  come  quite  close  to  the  birds, 
which  mistake  the  paper  kite  for  a  bird  of  prey, 
and  crouch  closely  to  the  ground  as  long  as  it  is 
above  them.  The  peacock  was  therefore  play- 
ing on  this  instinctive  sense  of  fear  when  it  spread 
its  train  over  the  chickens. 

In  his  "Gatherings  of  a  Naturalist  in  Aus- 
tralia," Mr.  Bennett  mentions  an  instance  of 
humor  in  an  emu.  A  pair  of  these  birds  lived 
at  Sydney,  and  were  so  tame  that  they  walked 
about  among  the  people  who  came  to  listen  to 
the  band.  One  day  some  persons  were  present 
who  did  not  know  the  birds,  and,  being  afraid  of 
them,  ran  away.  Whereupon  the  emus,  enjoying 
the  joke,  gave  chase  after  one  of  the  fugitives, 
and  took  off  his  hat. 

The  same  author  gives  a  description  of  the 
beautiful  species  of  cassowary  called  the  mooruk. 
He  kept  a  pair  of  them  in  a  yard  with  his  poult- 
ry, among  which  was  a  very  consequential  ban- 
tam cock.  Every  now  and  then  the  mooruk 
would  take  a  fancy  for  chasing  the  bantam  all 
over  the  yard,  and  endeavoring  to  trample  him 
underfoot. 


ere  are  two  accounts  of  a  similar  mode  of 
practical  joking  carried  on  by  a  dog,  which  I 
knew  personally,  and  a  horse,  both  belonging  to 
the  same  lady : 


HUMOR. 


85 


"  We  have  a  little  Pomeranian  dog,  one  of 
whose  principal  amusements  consists  in  persecut- 
ing any  fowls  which  may  invade  the  precincts  of 
his  garden,  though  he  never  meddles  with  them 
when  they  keep  to  their  own  territories.  His 
favorite  mode  of  torture  consists  in  running 
down  the  unfortunate  fowl,  rolling  it  over  upon 
its  back,  and  then  running  round  and  round  it. 
This  conduct  the  dog  repeats  as  often  as  the 
poor  victim  regains  its  feet.  Should  the  fowl 
happen  to  be  a  large  Cochin  or  Malay,  the  fran- 
tic agitations  of  its  elevated  legs  are  most  ludi- 


Horses, when  kindly  treated,  are  very  fond  of 
practical  joking,  from  sheer  exuberance  of  spirits. 
Ignorant  grooms  very  often  are  unable  to  under- 
stand that  playfulness  is  not  vice,  and  when  they 
are  brought  in  contact  with  a  high-spirited,  play- 
ful animal,  consider  it  to  be  a  vicious  one,  and 
treat  it  with  brutal  violence,  thus  ruining  the 
temper  of  the  animal.  Here  are  some  examples 
of  practical  joking  in  horses  : 

"One  of  our  carriage  -horses,  'Charley,'  al- 
though by  no  means  vicious,  was  a  saucy  creat- 
ure. We  had  much  difficulty  in  securing  him, 
as  he  could  slip  or  untie  his  halter,  take  down 
the  bar,  and  open  the  stable  door.  One  day  the 
groom  forgot  the  necessary  precaution  of  locking 
the  door.  Out  into  the  yard  walked  Charley, 
where  he  found  the  coachman's  little  boy.  The 
animal  did  not  attempt  to  hurt  the  child,  but 
(with  that  feeling  which  causes  great  boys  to  find 
amusement  in  teasing  younger  ones)  drove  him 
into  a  corner,  and  seeing  that  the  little  fellow 
was  frightened,  kept  him  there  by  shaking  his 
head  at  him  whenever  he  attempted  to  escape. 
I  happened  to  be  the  first  person  who  discovered 
them,  and,  although  but  a  child  myself,  went  to 
the  rescue. 

"I  knew  the  animal's  funny  tricks,  and  he 
knew  that  I  was  not  afraid  of  him  ;  therefore  he 
allowed  me  to  lead  him  back  to  the  stable,  only 
giving  a  parting  shake  of  the  head  to  his  late 
prisoner.  Although  so  fond  of  liberty  himself, 
he  would  thus  imprison  dogs,  cats,  or  fowls  when- 
ever an  opportunity  offered." 

One  of  my  friends,  when  a  boy,  had  a  Shet- 
land pony,  whose  idea  of  humor  consisted  in 
throwing  every  one  who  got  on  his  back  ;  and 
the  variety  of  means  which  he  could  employ 
showed  a  wonderful  readiness  and  fertility  of  in- 
vention. Having  heard  the  owner  of  the  pony 
tell  a  few  anecdotes  of  his  former  favorite,  I  ask- 
ed for  further  details,  and  received  from  the  old 
coachman  of  the  family  the  following  account, 
which  I  print  exactly  as  it  was  written  : 


"In   the  year  ITrr  X'TtnTT" —  Fox 

Hounds  was  kept  at  K ,  J.  G.,  Esq.,  master 

of  them.  There  was  three  young  Gentlemen, 
sons  of  Mr.  G.  They  had  each  Poneys  for  hunt- 
ing. Mr.  F.  was  the  eldest,  then  Mr.  C.  and 
Mr.  A.  Mr.  F.  twelve  years  of  age,  Mr.  C.  ten, 
and  Mr.  A.  nine.  The  Poneys  was  kept  rough, 
never  in  a  Stable;  they  ran  out  in  the  Park 
summer  and  winter,  had  a  shed  to  go  into  at 
night ;  they  got  a  little  Corn  and  Hay  in  winter, 
that  was  all  the  Grooming  they  got.  One  of 
them  named  Tom  tit  was  rather  a  rum  one  to 
ride ;  he  was  about  ten  hands  High,  a  dark  Bay 
with  Black  Points,  Carraed  very  little  flesh,  more 
like  a  roe  deer  than  a  Poney ;  his  rider  was  Mr. 
C.  At  that  time  his  weight  would  be  about  6 
Stone.  None  Could  ride  him  but  him  self.  I 
remember  of  5  of  the  Stable  Lads  trying  to 
ride  him  in  the  Park  arnongest  the  rest  I  was 
one.  No  sooner  did  we  get  on  to  him  then  he 
Pitched  every  one  of  us  over  his  head.  Of 
Course  we  had  no  Saddle. 

"I  have  seen  Mr.  C.  get  on  to  him.  in  the 
Stableyard,  and  the  first  thing  he  would  try  to 
do  was  to  Pitch  him  over  his  head ;  having  failed 
in  that,  he  would  try  to  rub  him  off  against  a 
wall  or  house,  thinking  he  had  got  his  leg  be- 
twixt him  and  wall ;  but  Mr.  C.  "was  too  wide 
awake  for  him,  the  moment  he  saw  what  he  was 
up  too  he  put  his  leg  up  on  his  neck,  then  hav- 
ing faild  there,  he  maid  for  the  Coachhouse 
wich  was  verry  narrow,  Just  room  enough  to  let 
a  Man  in  along  side  of  Carriage,  he  would  get 
in  there  trying  first  the  wall  and  then  against  the 
Carriage ;  he  had  not  room  enough  to  turn  to 
get  out,  so  that  some  of  us  would  lift  him  and 
•his  rider  out  without  any  Damage  being  done ; 
then  having  faild  in  all  these  atemps,  he  ran  off 
Past  the  Mansion  house;  there  is  a  burn  runs 
Close  Past  the  house,  a  Bridge  over  it,  and  then 
a  gate  about  4  feet  High,  and  wich  he  maid  an 
atemp  to  Jump,  he  got  his  fore  legs  over  the  tope 
bar  up  as  far  as  the  knees  and  he  was  fixed  he 
Could  nether  get  one  way  nor  another,  he  was 
Standing  on  his  hind  feet  almost  as  Straight  as  a 
man  and  his  rider  Still  in  the  Saddle.  I  run  up 
to  him  and  said,  What  are  you  doing  there  ? 
His  rider  said,  I  know  what,  he  wants  me  off 
some  way  or  other,  so  must  Just  get  down  when 
he  had  the  boldness  to  get  up,  I  will  not  Come 
off:  so  I  lifted  the  two  off  the  Gate.  I  have 
seen  him  when  in  a  run  with  the  Hounds  go 
through  a  hole  in  a  hedge  you  would  think  not 
large  enough  to  let  one  of  the  Hounds.  He  was 
very  Seldom  thrown  out  of  a  run,  he  Could  gal- 
lop like  a  race  horse ;  very  Good  for  soft  ground, 
being  so  light.  I  remember  of  the  going  a-miss- 


86 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


ing  all  in  a  sudden  so  they  were  both  lost.  Mr. 
G.  called  out,  C.,  were  are  you?  The  answer 
sounded  near  where  were  Standing  I  hear  they 
were  both  lying  in  a  ditch  up  to  the  neck  in  wa- 
ter, and  Poor  C.  and  Poney  had  to  go  home  very 
much  aganst  there  will." 

The  same  pony  was  afterward  sold  and  taken 
away.  However,  when  he  was  some  five  or  six 
miles  away,  he  had  recourse  to  his  old  tricks : 
he  sent  his  rider  over  his  head,  galloped  off,  and 
jumped  several  walls,  swam  the  river  Earn,  and 
presented  himself  at  his  old  quarters. 

The  "Mr.  C."  mentioned  by  the  coachman 
tells  me  that  the  perpetual  struggle  for  mastery 
was  nothing  but  pure  fun  on  the  part  of  the 
pony ;  but  that  if  he  had  once  dismounted,  even 
when  in  such  absurd  positions  as  those  which  the 
coachman  so  well  describes,  the  pony  would  have 
been  master  ever  afterward. 

Last  summer  I  was  witness  to  a  scene  show- 
ing that  the  horse  possesses  a  strong  sense  of 
humor.  I  was  walking  through  Barfreyston,  a 
village  near  Dover,  and  saw  over  the  rather  high 
wall  of  a  farm-yard  a  couple  of  horses  careering 
about  madly.  The  wall  was  so  high  that  only 
their  heads  could  be  seen,  and  occasionally  a 
whisk  of  their  tails.  Finding  an  aperture  through 
which  I  could  look  without  being  seen,  I  found 
that  the  horses  were  amusing  themselves  by 
chasing  a  pig,  hunting  it  round  and  round  the 
yard,  driving  it  into  corners,  and  occasionally 
flinging  their  heels  into  the  air  with  delight. 

They  scarcely  gave  that  wretched  pig  any 
rest.  Sometimes,  when  tired  with  their  exer- 
tions, they  would  lie  still  for  a  few  minutes,  and 
the  pig  would  get  away  as  far  as  possible  from 
his  tormentors.  But  no  sooner  did  the  poor 
animal  settle  down  to  a  cabbage  leaf  than  the 
horses  would  be  at  him  again,  driving  him  about, 
and  putting  him  in  such  a  state  of  perturbation 
by  chasing  him  from  different  directions  that  he 
had  not  the  least  idea  where  to  run  so  as  to  es- 
cape his  tormentors.  The  horses,  in  fact,  were 
acting  just  as  two  school-boys  might  be  expected 
to  do  if  a  pig's  adverse  fate  had  delivered  it  in 
their  hands. 

Many  of  the  lower  animals  not  only  show  their 
playfulness  in  such  tricks  as  those  which  have 
been  mentioned,  but  are  able  to  appreciate  and 
take  part  in  the  games  played  by  children. 
When  I  was  a  boy  I  knew  a  little  dog,  a  King 
Charles  spaniel,  which  was  an  accomplished 
player  at  the  well-known  game  called  tag,  or 
touch.  The  little  animal  displayed  quite  as 
much  enthusiasm  as  any  of  the  human  players, 


and  would  dart  away  from  the  boy  who  happen- 
ed to  be  "touch"  with  an  anxiety  that  almost 
appeared  to  be  terror.  Of  course  to  touch  the 
dog  was  an  impossibility ;  but  he  was  a  gener- 
ous little  creature,  with  a  strong  sense  of  justice, 
and  so,  when  he  thought  that  his  turn  ought  to 
come,  he  stood  still  and  waited  quietly  to  be 
touched.  His  mode  of  touching  his  playfellows 
was  always  by  grasping  the  end  of  their  trousers 
in  his  teeth ;  and  as  it  was  impossible  for  the 
boy  to  stop  when  so  seized  in  full  course,  the 
dog  often  got  jerked  along  the  ground  for  some 
little  distance. 

A  lady  told  me  lately  that,  when  a  girl,  she 
had  a  pony  which  would  play  hide-and-seek  with 
the  children.  Hiding  was  necessarily  only  a 
pretense  on  the  part  of  the  pony;  but  the  ani- 
mal would  go  to  some  corner,  hide  its  head,  and 
make  believe  that  it  was  entirely  concealed. 

Hide-and-seek  seems  to  be  a  game  which  can 
be  learned  and  enjoyed  by  many  animals.  One 
of  my  correspondents  has  sent  me  an  account  of 
a  favorite  cat  which  was  an  adept  in  the  game. 
She  was  a  white  cat  with  yellow  eyes,  and  went 
by  the  name  of  "Daisy."  She  was  given,  when 
quite  a  little  kitten,  to  her  mistress,  who  was 
then  a  young  child,  and  the  two  became  insepa- 
rable companions,  joining  in  their  sports,  one  of 
which  was  hide-and-seek. 

The  little  mistress  used  to  hide,  and  the  kitten 
to  search  for  her,  invariably  discovering  her  lurk- 
ing-place. 

One  of  the  most  curious  points  in  this  animal 
was  that  when  she  became  a  cat  and  had  a  kit- 
ten of  her  own,  she  taught  her  young  one  the 
game  which  she  had  learned  from  her  mistress, 
importing  into  the  game  an  element  which  I 
have  over  and  over  again  seen  in  the  same  game 
when  played  by  children.  The  kitten  went  and 
hid  itself,  or  rather  pretended  to  hide,  and  the 
mother  went  in  search  of  it.  She  would  pretend 
not  to  see  the  kitten,  and  pass  close  to  its  hiding- 
place.  Then,  as  if  startled,  she  would  spring 
back,  the  kitten  would  jump  out  at  her,  and  the 
two  would  rush  about  in  high  glee. 

The  reader  can  compare  with  this  stoiy  the 
anecdote  of  "Pop"  and  the  hidden  key,  which 
will  be  found  in  another  part  of  this  work. 

A  somewhat  similar  anecdote  is  told  in  the 
Zoologist,  page  9430,  of  a  short-tailed  field-mouse, 
which  had  been  tamed.  It  was  found  so  cover- 
ed with  ticks  that  it  could  hardly  crawl.  It  was 
picked  up,  cleared  from  the  vermin,  and  placed 
in  a  box.  It  was  so  grateful  for  the  relief  that 


HUMOR. 


87 


it  did  not  try  to  escape,  and  on  the  very  first 
day  took  food  from  the  hand  of  its  benefactor. 

"Little  '  Peter,'  as  he  was  named,  soon  learn- 
ed to  come  when  called,  and  was  let  out  of  the 
box  every  day  to  play  about  the  room.  Strange 
to  say,  he  showed  a  decided  appreciation  of  fun, 
a  favorite  amusement  being  to  hide  himself  in  a 
basin  of  corn  which  was  kept  for  his  benefit.  In 
this  he  would  bury  himself,  refusing  to  answer 
to  his  name,  and  evidently  expecting  to  be  look- 
ed for.  If  my  friend  took  no  notice  of  him,  Pe- 
ter's slender  stock  of  patience  soon  became  ex- 
hausted; first  a  shrill  squeak  was  heard,  then 
the  corn  flew  up  in  showers,  and  at  last  up 
came  Peter's  little  round  head  to  the  surface." 

This  interesting  little  animal  died  from  feast- 
ing too  freely  on  a  pear  which  had  been  inju- 
diciously given  to  it  by  one  of  the  servants. 

Dr.  Bennett,  in  his  "Gatherings  of  a  Naturalist 
in  Australia,"  mentions  that  a  couple  of  young 
duck-bills  in  his  possession  used  to  play  at  hide- 
and-seek  behind  the  furniture  of  the  room.  One 
would  hide  itself  and  then  give  a  squeak,  when 
the  other  would  hunt  for  it  and  at  last  find  it. 

The  reader  will  remember  that  a  kestrel  pos- 
sessed the  same  powers  of  "making  believe," 
pretending  that  a  piece  of  brick  was  a  mouse, 
and  fighting  fiercely  if  any  one  offered  to  take  it 
away. 

Not  even  the  huge  and  unwieldy  whales  are 
exempt  from  the  sense  of  humor  as  displayed  by 
playfulness.  In  Bennett's  "Whaling  Voyage" 
there  is  a  short  and  graphic  description  of  this 
trait  of  character  in  the  spermaceti -whale,  or 
cachalot,  as  it  is  often  called : 

' '  A  large  party  of  cachalots  gamboling  on  the 
surface  of  the  ocean  is  one  of  the  most  curious 
and  imposing  spectacles  which  a  whaling  voy- 
age affords ;  the  huge  size  and  uncouth  agility 
of  the  monsters  exhibiting  a  strange  combination 
of  the  grand  and  ridiculous. 

"On  such  occasions  it  is  not  unusual  to  ob- 
serve a  whale  of  the  largest  size  leap  from  the 
water  with  the  activity  of  a  salmon,  display  the 
entire  bulk  of  its  gigantic  frame  suspended  at 
the  height  of  several  feet  in  the  air,  and  again 
plunge  into  the  sea  with  a  helpless  and  tremen- 
dous fall,  which  causes  the  surrounding  waters 
to  shoot  up  in  broad  and  lofty  volumes  capped 
with  foam. 

"Others  of  the  same  'school'  leap  or  'breach' 
in  a  less  degree,  sportively  brandish  their  broad 
and  fan -shaped  flukes  in  the  air,  or  protrude 
their  heads  perpendicularly  above  the  waves  like 
columns  of  black  rock." 

Captain  Scott,  R.N.,  once  told  me,  as  an  ex- 
ample of  the  height  to  which  a  cachalot  will  leap 


in  these  gambols,  that  when  standing  on  the 
deck  of  a  man-of-war,  he  has  seen  the  horizon 
under  the  animal  before  it  fell  again  into  the  wa- 
ter. When  we  recollect  that  these  whales  often 
reach  eighty  feet  in  length,  we  may  appreciate 
the  force  which  is  exerted  in  projecting  this  huge 
mass  to  such  a  height. 

Here  are  two  instances  of  humor  as  exhibited 
by  birds,  and  showing  playfulness  without  any 
desire  to  cause  personal  annoyance : 

Two  ladies  were  sitting  at  work  in  a  room  in 
which  was  a  pet  canary  belonging  to  one  of  them. 
The  bird  threw  a  reel  of  cotton  on  the  floor,  took 
the  end  of  the  thread  in  its  beak,  and  wound  it 
first  round  the  neck  of  one  lady  and  then  round 
that  of  the  other,  until  the  reel  was  empty,  when 
the  bird  perched  on  a  chair,  and  seemed  quite 
pleased  with  its  freak. 

The  lady  to  whom  the  bird  belonged  tried  to 
unwind  the  thread  from  her  neck ;  but  every  time 
that  she  attempted  to  remove  it,  the  canary  flew 
at  her  and  flapped  its  wings  in  her  face,  so  as  to 
prevent  her  from  freeing  herself. 

A  young  lady,  who  was  considered  as  the  mis- 
tress of  a  bull-finch  by  every  one  except  the  bird 
himself,  sends  me  the  following  account  of  her 
pet's  sense  of  humor,  which  was  developed,  as  is 
usual  among  the  lower  animals,  in  the  form  of  a 
practical  joke : 

"One  day  while  'Bully'  was  flying  about  the 
dining-room  mamma  went  out  of  the  room,  leav- 
ing on  the  table  her  work-box,  in  which  was  a  lit- 
tle pincushion  stuck  full  of  needles  already  thread- 
ed, besides  pins.  Bully  knew  that  he  was  not 
allowed  to  touch  the  pins ;  but  as  soon  as  mam- 
ma left  the  room  he  pulled  all  the  pins  out  of  the 
pincushion,  and  scattered  them  about  the  table- 
cloth. The  needles  he  carried  to  the  top  of  the 
lamp,  and  twisted  the  thread  round  a  part  of  the 
lamp.  He  then  put  the  pincushion  under  the 
sofa,  and  retired  to  the  lamp,  where  he  waited 
until  mamma  came  back." 

It  is  really  a  remarkable  fact  that  these  two 
birds,  each  belonging  to  the  finches,  should  have 
played  similar  practical  jokes  with  thread, »".  e., 
twisting  it  about  some  object  where  it  had  no 
business  to  be.  I  ought  to  add  that  the  story  of 
the  canary  was  sent  to  me  only  a  few  days  ago, 
while  no  less  than  thirteen  years  have  elapsed 
since  the  anecdote  of  the  bull-finch  was  sent.  It 
had  been  put  away  in  a  box,  and  was  only  found 
an  hour  or  two  before  this  present  time— 11.25 
A.M.,  January  8,  1874. 

In  Bennett's  "Wanderings  in  New  South 
Wales"  there  is  a  singularly  interesting  history 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


of  the  life  and  death  of  a  Siamese  ape,  which 
went  by  the  name  of  "  Ungka."  He  was  a  play- 
ful animal,  and  sometimes,  when  he  could  not 
find  a  human  playfellow,  he  would  try  to  make 
companions  of  some  small  monkeys  that  were  on 
board  the  same  ship.  He  was  too  big  and  black 
for  them,  however,  and  they  united  together  for 
the  purpose  of  driving  him  away. 

"Ungka,  thus  repelled  in  his  kind  endeavors 
to  establish  something  like  sociality  among  them, 
determined  in  his  own  mind  to  annoy  and  pun- 
ish them  for  their  impudence.  So  the  next  time 
that  they  united  as  before  in  a  body  on  his  ap- 
proach, he  watched  the  opportunity,  and,  when 
one  was  off  his  guard,  seized  a  rope,  and,  swing- 
ing toward  him,  caught  him  by  the  tail  and  haul- 
ed away  upon  it,  much  to  the  annoyance  of  the 
owner,  who  had  no  idea  that  such  a  retaliation 
was  to  take  place.  He  continued  pulling  on  it 
as  if  determined  to  detach  it,  until  the  agility  and 
desperation  of  the  monkey  at  being  so  treated 
obliged  him  to  relinquish  his  hold. 

"But  it  not  unfrequently  happened  that  he 
made  his  way  up  the  rigging,  dragging  the 
monkey  after  him,  and  thus  made  him  follow  his 
course  most  unwillingly.  If,  in  his  ascent,  he  re- 
quired both  hands,  he  would  pass  the  tail  of  his 
captive  into  the  prehensile  palm  of  his  feet.  It 
was  the  most  grotesque  scene  imaginable,  and 
will  long  remain  in  the  remembrance  of  those 
who  witnessed  it.  It  was  performed  by  Ungka 
with  the  most  perfect  gravity  of  countenance, 
while  the  poor  suffering  monkey  grinned,  chatter- 
ed, and  twisted  about,  making  the  most  strenuous 
efforts  to  escape  from  his  opponent's  grasp. 

"His  countenance,  at  all  times  a  figure  of  fun, 


now  had  terror  added  to  it,  increasing  the  delin- 
eations of  beauty ;  and  when  the  poor  beast  had 
been  dragged  some  distance  up  the  rigging,  Ung- 
ka, tired  of  his  labor,  would  suddenly  let  go  his 
hold  of  the  tail,  when  it  would  require  some  skill 
on  the  part  of  the  monkey  to  seize  a  rope  in  order 
to  prevent  his  receiving  a  compound  fracture  by 
a  rapid  descent  on  deck.  Ungka,  having  himself 
no  caudal  extremity,  knew  well  that  he  was  per- 
fectly free  from  any  retaliation  on  the  part  of  his 
opponent." 

After  this  the  small  monkeys  had  a  consulta- 
tion, and  agreed  that  whenever  Ungka  assaulted 
either  of  them,  they  should  all  unite  in  attacking 
him.  This,  by  the  way,  is  another  proof  of  lan- 
guage and  power  of  combination  among  animals, 
as  mentioned  in  Chapter  V.  Having  acquired  a 
taste  for  tail-pulling,  and  finding  it  unsafe  to  attack 
the  monkeys,  Ungka  took  to  pulling  the  tail  of  the 
ship's  pig,  trying,  but  in  vain,  to  straighten  it. 

We  shall  hear  something  more  of  this  animal 
in  connection  with  the  subjects  of  Pride  and  Con- 
science. 

Some  persons  have  asked  me  what  use  the  ca- 
pacity of  humor  could  subserve  in  the  next  world  ? 
I  suppose,  much  the  same  that  it  subserves  in 
this.  For  my  own  part,  I  should  extremely  re- 
gret, were  it  possible,  to  lose  my  sense  of  humor 
whenever  it  may  please  my  Maker  to  summon 
me  into  the  spirit-world.  There  are  some,  even 
in  this  world,  in  whom  the  sense  of  humor  seems 
to  be  absolutely  wanting,  and,  however  estimable 
they  may  be  in  character,  they  are  just  solemn 
prigs.  I  should  be  sorry  to  resemble  them  in 
the  next  world. 


PRIDE. 


89 


CHAPTER  XI. 
PRIDE,  JEALOUSY,  ANGER,  REVENGE,  TYRANNY. 

PKIDE,  or  Self-esteem,  among  Animals. — Etiquette  in  the  Cow-shed. — Pride  of  Ancestry  in  the  Mule. — Differ- 
ent Positions  of  the  Horse  and  the  Ass  among  Mules.— The  "  Bell  Mare  "  and  her  Value  to  Muleteers.— 
Animals  Sensitive  to  Ridicule.—"  Pret's  "  Objection  to  Disparaging  Remarks.— Dislike  of  Ridicule  Shown 
by  "Ungka."— Pride  in  Personal  Appearance.— The  Peacock,  the  Turkey,  the  Whidah-bird,  and  the  Bird- 
of-Paradise.— JEALOUSY  and  its  Developments.— Definition  of  the  Two  Kinds  of  Jealousy — Jealousies  be- 
tween Pets. — "  Zeiio,"  "  Diver,"  and  their  Aquatic  Rivalries. — Jealousy  of  a  Dog,  accompanied  by  ANQEB, 
and  followed  by  REVENGE.— The  Brown  Mouse  and  its  White  Rival — Jealousy  and  Delayed  Revenge 
among  Poultry.— The  Love-drama  of  the  Mandarin  Duck,  and  its  Adaptability  to  the  Stage.— Comparison 
with  Human  Beings.— TYKANNY  among  the  Animals.— Tyranny  in  the  Tiger-beetle.— The  Hermit  Crabs 
and  their  Conflicts.— Tyranny  among  Gregarious  Animals  and  Birds.— The  Tyrant  and  the  Harem.— Com- 
parison with  Polygamous  Man.— Tyranny  in  the  Aviary.— Tyranny  of  Pets.— "Duchie  "  and  her  Mistress. 


THE  five  characteristics  which  head  this  chap- 
ter are  not  pleasing  ;  but,  such  as  they  are,  they 
belong  to  the  immaterial,  and  not  the  material, 
part  of  man.  We  shall  see  that  the  lower  ani^ 
mals  also  possess  these  qualities,  and  the  infer- 
ence to  be  drawn  from  that  fact  is  obvious.  We 
will  take  those  characteristics  in  order. 

Pride,  or  self-esteem,  is  developed  as  fully  in 
many  animals  as  it  can  be  in  the  proudest  of  the 
human  race.  This  is  shown  most  conspicuously 
in  animals  which  herd  together.  There  is  al- 
ways one  leader  at  the  head,  who  will  not  suffer 
any  move  to  be  made  without  his  permission, 
and  who  resents  the  slightest  interference  with  his 
authority.  Especially  is  this  the  case  with  the 
deer  tribe,  the  horses,  and  the  oxen.  Even  when 
these  latter  animals  are  domesticated,  and  the 
habits  of  their  wild  life  are  materially  changed, 
the  feeling  of  pride  exists  to  the  fullest  extent. 

I  have  often  amused  myself  by  watching  the 
inhabitants  of  a  farm-yard,  and  seeing  how  the 
cows  have  their  laws  of  precedence  and  etiquette 
as  clearly  defined  as  those  of  any  European  court. 
Every  cow  knows  her  own  place  and  keeps  it ; 
she  will  not  condescend  to  take  a  lower,  and 
would  not  be  allowed  to  take  a  higher.  When 
a  newly  bought  calf  is  first  introduced  to  the 
farm-yard,  it  is  treated  just  like  a  new  boy  at 
school.  The  previous  inhabitants  of  the  yard 
come  and  inspect  it  contemptuously,  they  de- 
cline its  society,  they  crowd  it  away  from  the 
hay-racks ;  and  a  new-comer  in  a  farm-yard  has 
about  as  much  chance  of  approaching  the  rack 
at  feeding-time  as  a  new  boy  has  of  getting  near 
the  fire  on  a  cold  winter  day. 


However,  as  time  goes  on,  the  young  calf  in- 
creases in  growth,  and  is  allowed  to  mix  with 
her  companions  on  tolerably  equal  terms.  Then, 
if  a  younger  animal  than  herself  be  admitted,  it 
is  amusing  to  see  with  what  gratification  she 
bullies  the  new-comer,  and  how  much  higher  she 
seems  to  rank  in  her  own  estimation  when  she 
is  no  longer  the  junior.  Should  the  fates  be 
propitious,  she  arrives  at  the  dignity  of  being 
senior  cow,  and  never  fails  to  assert  that  dignity 
on  every  occasion.  When  the  cattle  are  taken 
out  of  the  yard  to  their  pasture  in  the  morning, 
and  when  they  return  to  it  in  the  evening,  she 
will  not  allow  any  except  herself  to  take  the 
lead.  I  have  heard  of  one  instance  where  the 
man  in  charge  of  the  cows  would  not  allow  the 
"  Sanger»"  as  the  head  cow  is  often  called,  to  go 
out  first.  The  result  was  that  she  refused  to  go 
out  at  all ;  and,  in  order  to  get  her  out  of  the 
yard,  the  man  had  to  drive  all  the  other  cows 
back  again,  so  that  she  might  take  her  proper 
place  at  their  head. 

In  great  portions  of  this  country  we  make  little 
use  of  the  mule,  and  its  real  disposition  is  not 
generally  known.  Those,  however,  who  have 
been  forced  into  long  companionship  with  this 
animal  have  always  observed  some  very  curious 
traits  of  character  in  it.  Judging  from  popular 
ideas  respecting  the  mule,  we  might  think  that 
the  animal  had  no  pride  in  its  composition ; 
whereas  it  is  in  reality  a  very  proud  animal,  and 
fond  of  good  society,  as  is  shown  by  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  Froebel's  "  Seven  Years  in 
Central  America:" 

"From  drivers  and  muleteers  we  may  pass  to 


90 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


mules,  which  are  in  many  respects  far  more  in- 
teresting than  the  former,  and  whose  natural  dis- 
position is  an  attractive  subject  to  the  observer 
of  nature. 

* '  One  of  the  most  striking  characteristics  of 
the  mule  is  his  aversion  to  the  ass,  and  the  pride 
which  he  takes  in  his  relationship  to  the  horse, 
which  instincts  are  met  with  obtrusiveness  in 
the  ass  and  by  indifference  in  the  horse.  If  an 
ass  at  any  time,  urged  by  the  vanity  peculiar  to 
its  race  as  related  to  the  mule,  happens  to  fall  in 
with  a  drove  of  mules,  he  will,  in  all  probability, 
be  kicked  and  lamed  by  his  proud  relations.  A 
horse,  on  the  contrary,  takes  a  distinguished  po- 
sition in  a  drove  of  mules.  The  latter  crowd 
around  him  and  follow  his  movements,  exhibit- 
ing a  violent  jealousy,  each  striving  to  stand  near- 
est to  their  distinguished  relative. 

' '  This  instinct  is  employed  to  keep  together  a 
drove  of  mules  on  a  journey  or  at  pasture,  by 
putting  a  mare  to  the  drove,  with  a  bell  around 
her  neck,  and  called  the  '  Bell  Mare ;'  by  the 
Mexicans,  'Layegua  Madre,'  i.  e.,  the  mother- 
mare.  This  animal  is  led  day  and  night  by  a 
cord,  and  the  whole  drove  is  thus  kept  under 
control,  and  will  not  leave  their  queen.  It  is, 
therefore,  very  difficult  to  separate  the  drove. 
The  man  who  leads  the  mare  is  instructed,  in 
case  of  an  attack  from  the  Indians,  to  leap  in- 
stantly upon  the  back  of  this  animal,  and  take 
refuge  in  the  wagon  encampment,  whither  the 
drove  is  sure  to  follow  him. 

"Even  if  the  Indians  succeed  in  separating 
any  mules  from  the  drove,  they  find  it  difficult 
to  carry  them  off.  The  animals  incessantly  at- 
tempt to  turn  back,  and  the  travelers  are  thus 
enabled  to  overtake  the  robbers,  and  recover  the 
stolen  animals.  The  Indians,  in  consequence, 
use  every  means  to  get  possession  of  the  mare, 
and,  if  they  succeed  in  this,  the  whole  drove  is 
lost  to  their  owners.  If  several  horses  are  in  a 
drove  of  mules,  the  danger  is  that  the  latter  be- 
come dispersed ;  and  this  is  the  reason  that,  in 
these  journeys,  saddle  horses  are  not  allowed  to 
go  loose,  but  are  led  by  a  cord." 

It  is  rather  curious  to  trace  among  the  lower 
animals  a  feeling  which  bears  a  very  close  resem- 
blance to  pride  of  birth  among  mankind. 

Pride  shows  itself  in  many  ways,  both  in  men 
and  animals.  Here  we  have  pride  of  rank  and 
love  of  precedence  among  cows,  and  pride  of  an- 
cestry among  mules.  Sometimes  pride  takes  the 
form  of  sensitiveness  to  ridicule.  There  is  noth- 
ing so  galling  to  a  proud  man  as  to  feel  himself 
the  object  of  ridicule,  and  precisely  the  same 
trait  of  character  is  to  be  found  in  many  animals. 


As  may  be  expected,  this  form  of  pride  is  most- 
ly developed  in  the  domesticated  animals;  or, 
perhaps,  it  is  in  those  that  we  have  most  oppor- 
tunities of  observing  it. 

My  cat,  "Pret,"  for  example,  was  peculiarly 
sensitive  to  any  thing  approaching  ridicule.  He 
was  quite  conscious  if  we  spoke  of  him  in  a  dis- 
paraging manner,  and  testified  his  disapproba- 
tion after  his  own  manner.  But  to  laugh  at  him 
was  an  insult  which  he  could  not  brook,  and,  if 
we  continued  to  do  so,  he  would  arch  his  tail, 
hold  himself  very  stiff  indeed,  and  march  slowly 
out  of  the  room.  How  sensitive  all  high-bred 
dogs  are  to  ridicule  is  so  well  known  that  we 
need  not  occupy  space  by  citing  examples. 

The  Siamese  ape  "Ungka,"  a  part  of  whose 
history  has  already  been  given  in  connection  with 
the  subject  of  Humor,  possessed  a  keen  sense  of 
ridicule.  The  animal  was  exceedingly  tame, 
and  at  meal-times  always  came  to  take  his  share, 
a  corner  of  the  table  being  appropriated  to  his 
use.  "  When,  from  any  of  his  ludicrous  actions 
at  table,  we  all  burst  out  in  loud  laughter,  he 
would  vent  his  indignation  at  being  made  the  ob- 
ject of  ridicule  by  uttering  his  peculiar  hollow 
barking  noise,  at  the  same  time  inflating  the  air- 
sac,  and  regarding  the  persons  laughing  with  a 
most  serious  look  until  they  had  ceased,  when 
he  would  quietly  resume  his  dinner." 

Pride  in  personal  appearance,  or  vanity,  is 
often  to  be  seen  among  the  lower  animals,  more 
especially  among  those  birds  who  are  notable  for 
bright  or  abundant  plumage. 

Any  one  who  has  seen  a  peacock  in  all  the 
glory  of  his  starry  train  will  recognize  the  in- 
tense pride  which  the  bird  feels  at  his  own  splen- 
dor. He  does  not  only  display  his  magnificent 
train  for  the  purpose  of  attracting  the  homage  of 
his  plainly  clad  mates,  but  seems  to  be  just  as 
proud  of  the  admiration  bestowed  by  human  be- 
ings as  of  that  offered  by  his  own  kind. 

Nor  does  he  despise  the  homage  of  birds  whom 
he  considers  his  inferiors.  Only  a  few  hours  be- 
fore writing  these  lines  I  saw  a  peacock,  with  his 
train  fully  spread,  displaying  all  his  grandeur 
around  a  dozen  barn-door  fowls.  He  stalked 
majestically  among  them,  scarcely  deigning  to 
look  at  them,  but  turning  round  and  round  so 
as  to  display  his  grandeur  to  the  best  advantage, 
and  apparently  as  satisfied  with  the  effect  which 
he  produced  as  if  he  had  been  surrounded  by  his 
own  kind. 

Then  there  is  the  turkey,  whose  movements 
are  so  grotesque  when  he  is  strutting  about  in 
his  nuptial  plumage,  and  who  surveys  himself 
with  ludicrous  complacency.  Taking  the  well- 


JEALOUSY. 


91 


known  whidah-bird  (or  widow-bird,  as  it  is  often 
called),  we  see  this  trait  of  character  highly  de- 
veloped. He  is  woaderfully  proud  of  his  beauti- 
ful tail,  and,  as  long  as  he  wears  it,  loses  no  op- 
portunity of  displaying  it  to  every  visitor  who 
approaches  his  cage.  But  when  the  moulting 
season  comes,  and  he  assumes  for  a  while  the 
plain,  tailless  suit  of  his  mate,  his  manner  is  as 
changed  as  his  appearance,  and,  instead  qf  ex- 
hibiting himself  in  all  his  pride,  he  mopes  about 
with  a  dull  and  listless  demeanor,  and  seems  ab- 
solutely ashamed  of  his  mean  condition. 

It  might  be  expected  that  so  magnificent  a 
creature  as  the  bird-of-paradise  would  have  its 
full  share  of  pride  ;  and  that  this  is  the  case  is 
shown  by  the  account  of  a  tame  specimen  in 
Bennett's  "New  South  Wales,"  to  which  ref- 
erence has  already  been  made  : 

"One  of  the  best  opportunities  of  seeing  this 
splendid  bird  in  all  its  beauty  of  action,  as  well 
as  display  of  plumage,  is  early  in  the  morning, 
when  he  makes  his  toilet.  The  beautiful  sub- 
alar  plumage  is  then  thrown  out,  and  cleansed 
from  any  spot  that  may  sully  its  purity  by  being 
passed  gently  through  the  bill.  The  short  choco- 
late-colored wings  are  extended  to  the  utmost ; 
he  keeps  them  in  a  slowly  flapping  motion,  as  if 
in  imitation  of  their  use  in  flight ;  at  the  same 
time  raising  up  the  delicate  long  feathers  over 
the  back,  which  are  spread  in  a  chaste  and  ele- 
gant manner,  floating  like  films  in  the  ambient 
air. 

"In  this  position  the  bird  would  remain  for  a 
short  time,  seeming  proud  of  its  heavenly  beau- 
ty, and  in  raptures  of  delight  with  its  most  en- 
chanting self.  It  will  then  assume  various  at- 
titudes, so  as  to  regard  its  plumage  in  every  di- 
rection. 

"  I  never  yet  beheld  a  soil  on  its  feathers. 
After  expanding  the  wings,  it  would  bring  them 
together  so  as  to  conceal  the  head :  then,  bend- 
„  ing  gracefully,  it  would  inspect  the  state  of  its 
plumage  underneath.  This  action  is  repeated 
in  quick  succession,  uttering  at  the  same  time 
its  croaking  notes.  It  then  pecks  and  cleans 
its  plumage  in  every  part  within  reach ;  and, 
throwing  out  the  elegant  and  delicate  tufts  of 
feathers  underneath  the  wings,  seemingly  with 
much  care  and  not  a  little  pride,  they  were  clean- 
ed in  succession  by  throwing  them  abroad,  elevat- 
ing, and  passing  them  in  succession  through  the 
bill. 

"Then,  turning  its  back  upon  the  spectator, 
the  bird  repeats  the  actions  above  mentioned, 
but  not  in  so  careful  a  manner ;  elevating  its 
tail  and  long  shaft  feathers,  it  raises  the  delicate 


plumage  of  a  similar  character  to  the  sub-alar, 
forming  a  beautiful  crest,  and,  throwing  its  feath- 
ers up  with  much  grace,  appears  as  proud  as  a 
lady  in  her  full  ball-dress.  Having  completed 
the  toilet,  it  utters  the  usual  cawing  notes,  at 
the  same  time  looking  archly  at  the  spectators, 
as  if  ready  to  receive  all  the  admiration  that 
it  considers  its  elegant  form  and  display  of  plu- 
mage demand.  It  then  takes  exercise  by  hop- 
ping in  a  rapid  but  graceful  manner  from  one 
end  of  the  upper  perch  to  the  other,  and  descends 
suddenly  upon  the  second  perch,  close  to  the  bars 
of  the  cage,  looking  out  for  the  grasshoppers 
which  it  is  accustomed  to  receive  at  this  time." 

Here  we  have  the  character  of  pride  in  per- 
sonal appearance  developed  as  strongly  as  it  could 
be  in  any  human  being.  Moreover,  the  bird  could 
sufficiently  enter  into  the  feelings  of  the  specta- 
tors to  understand  that  they  were  admiring  its 
beauty,  and  to  exult  in  that  admiration. 


JEALOUSY. 

Jealousy  is  of  two  kinds,  one  connected  with 
the  love  of  some  other  being,  and  the  other  de- 
pending on  the  love  of  self.  The  former  is  thus 
defined  in  Webster's  Dictionary :  "  That  pas- 
sion or  peculiar  uneasiness  which  arises  from  the 
fear  that  a  rival  may  rob  us  of  the  affection  of 
one  whom  we  love,  or  the  suspicion  that  he  has 
already  done  it."  The  latter  is  thus  defined: 
"The  uneasiness  which  arises  from  the  fear  that 
another  does  or  will  enjoy  some  advantage  which 
we  desire  for  ourselves. "  We  will  only  deal  with 
the  former  of  these  traits  of  character. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  evident,  from  the  defi- 
nition which  has  just  been  given,  that  jealousy 
implies  the  power  of  reasoning,  and  that  any 
creature  by  which  it  is  shown  must  be  able  to 
draw  a  conclusion  from  premises.  Perhaps  the 
animal  is  wrong  in  its  conclusion  ;  but  the  proc- 
ess is  still  one  of  reasoning,  however  incorrect 
that  process  may  be. 

All  persons  who  have  possessed  pet  animals 
must  be  familiar  with  the  exceeding  jealousy  dis- 
played by  most  of  them.  This  feeling  is  mani- 
fested most  strongly  when  an  animal  has  been 
the  only  pet,  and  another  is  introduced  into  the 
house. 

My  own  cat,  "Fret,"  resented  so  strongly  the 
advent  of  a  Skye  terrier,  that  when  the  dog  came 
into  the  house  he  walked  out,  and  never  would 
enter  it  again.  He  had  already  put  up  with  a 
baby,  which  was  a  very  great  trial  to  his  feel- 
ings ;  but  a  dog  was  more  than  he  could  en- 


92 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


dure,  and  so  he  retired  to  his  own  house  in  the 
garden,  and  lived  there  alone.  His  affection  for 
me  remained  unchanged,  and  he  was  only  too 
happy  when  I  went  into  the  garden.  But  he 
held  the  house  desecrated  by  a  dog,  and,  even 
when  hungry,  could  not  be  allured  within  the 
door  by  the  offer  of  food. 

Not  that  he  had  any  personal  objection  to  the 
dog ;  on  the  contrary,  the  two  animals  were  very 
friendly  with  each  other,  even  eating  out  of  the 
same  dish.  But  Fret  considered  that  "  Bosco  " 
had  no  right  to  me,  and  whenever  I  came  on  the 
scene,  Bosco  got  his  ears  boxed,  and  had  to  re- 
tire into  the  background.  So  absurdly  strong 
was  this  jealous  feeling,  that  whenever  I  wanted 
Pret  to  come  quickly,  I  used  to  call  Bosco ; 
which  ruse  always  had  the  effect  of  bringing 
Pret  along  at  full  speed,  in  order  to  anticipate 
the  dog. 

One  of  my  neighbors  has  a  couple  of  little  dogs — 
"Bell,"  a  black-and-tan  toy  terrier,  and  "Fay," 
a  cross  between  Skye  and  Maltese.  These  two 
animals  are  the  best  of  friends,  always  lying  on 
the  same  mat,  which  they  share  with  an  enor- 
mous cat  called  "Tommy."  But,  with  regard 
to  their  human  friends,  their  jealousy  of  each 
other  is  extreme.  They  do  not  seem  to  care  if 
notice  be  taken  of  the  cat ;  but  if  Bell  be  caressed, 
Fay  is  sure  to  sidle  up  and  try  to  interpose  her- 
self between  Bell  and  the  caressing  hand.  Bell 
is  equally  jealous,  but  shows  her  feeling  by  noisy 
and  angry  demonstrations  of  assault,  which,  how- 
ever, are  never  carried  into  effect. 

I  suppose  that  most  of  my  readers  who  have 
possessed  two  or  more  dogs  at  the  same  time 
must  have  been  amused  at  the  boundless  jealousy 
which  they  will  display  toward  each  other  while 
engaged  in  the  service  of  their  master,  though,  at 
other  times  very  excellent  friends.  Such  scenes 
as  the  following  are  of  frequent  occurrence,  and 
are  instructive  as  well  as  amusing : 

' '  I  have  in  my  possession  a  favorite  dog 
called  '  Zeno '  (from  the  Greek  philosopher) ; 
his  age  is  over  seventeen  years  ;  he  is  a  cross 
between  an  otter  terrier  and  a  Scotch. 

"There  never  was  a  cleverer  dog.  He  is  pas- 
sionately fond  of  the  gun  ;  and  though  very  serv- 
iceable in  the  field,  still  I  disliked  to  have  him 
when  pointers  were  at  work.  He  was  the  finest 
retriever  I  ever  saw,  and  if  there  was  a  wounded 
bird,  hare,  or  rabbit,  if  he  were  allowed,  he  would 
find  it,  go  where  it  might  be,  even  into  the  sea. 
Wherever  I  went  to  shoot,  he  was  sure  to  find 
me,  no  matter  whether  I  walked,  drove,  or  rode. 
I  have  seen  him  come  up  to  me  of  an  afternoon, 
when  he  must  have  traveled  seven  or  eight  miles, 


and  well  did  he  know  he  was  doing  wrong.  He 
would  sneak  up  behind  me,  afraid  almost  to  show 
himself ;  but  whenever  I  gave  him  a  sign  of  kind- 
ly recognition  he  became  quite  frantic  and  over- 
joyed ;  in  an  instant,  however,  he  was  at  my 
heels. 

"  A  favorite  amusement  of  mine  was  to  shoot 
wild-fowl  and  teal  in  the  Frith  of  Forth.  I  used 
to  take  Zeno  and  a  large  Newfoundland,  named 
'Diver,'  with  me. 

"Zeno  was  ever  on  the  watch,  and,  wherever 
I  killed  the  bird,  it  was  amusing  to  see  the  two 
plunging  into  the  waves,  and  racing  to  get  first 
to  it.  Zeno  generally  picked  up  the  bird,  having 
no  heavy  coat  to  impede  him ;  but  Diver  often 
thought  that  he  should  have  the  honor  of  carry- 
ing it,  and  would  attempt  to  take  it  from  him — 
but  it  was  of  no  use.  The  battle  often  became 
fierce,  the  little  dog  dropping  his  game,  flying  at 
the  larger  one  with  all  his  fury,  then,  picking  up 
his  bird,  would  paddle  his  way  to  the  boat-side, 
look  up  in  my  face  as  if  saying, '  Have  I  not  done 
well  ?'  and  then  I  would  help  him  up,  when  the 
two  were  as  good  friends  as  ever." 

The  power  of  jealousy  and  anger  is  well  shown 
by  the  following  anecdote  of  a  pet  dog.  I  knew 
the  animal  well,  and  his  mistress  wrote  the  little 
history  at  my  request : 

"One  of  our  pet  dogs,  of  a  mixed  breed,  with 
long  white  hair,  was,  in  common  with  most  pets, 
of  a  very  jealous  disposition,  always  showing  dis- 
pleasure if  any  other  living  thing  obtained  a  share 
of  that  attention  which  he  considered  exclusively 
his  own. 

"  One  wintry  morning  a  poor  little  infantine 
duck  that  had  been  injured  was  brought  into 
the  house  to  be  nursed  and  tended.  The  dog 
watched  all  the  attentions  bestowed  upon  it,  was 
evidently  annoyed  at  the  intrusion  of  a  rival 
where  he  had  ruled  supreme,  and  vowed  venge- 
ance. 

"  After  a  few  days  the  duck  mysteriously  dis- 
appeared. The  dog  was  suspected,  but  neither 
dog  nor  duck  could  be  found.  Just  before  dark 
a  more  minute  search  was  made  in  the  house  and 
garden,  and  at  last  something  was  visible  under 
a  large  rose-tree.  There  stood  the  culprit,  shiv- 
ering with  cold,  his  nose  and  paws  all  covered 
with  mud,  and  at  his  feet  was  a  half-filled  grave, 
in  which  was  deposited  the  body  of  the  murdered 
duck. 

"His  long  hair  had  become  entangled  in  the 
thorns  of  the  rose-tree  while  he  was  engaged  in 
burying  his  victim,  and  fear  of  detection  and  re- 
proof had  caused  him  to  remain  a  silent  captive 
for  so  many  hours.  His  pitiful  condition  dis- 


JEALOUSY. 


armed  our  censure,  for  he  was  so  firmly  fixed 
that  the  gardener  had  to  cut  off  the  rose-branch, 
so  that  it  might  be  more  leisurely  disentangled 
in  the  house.  Before  this  event  the  gardener 
had  not  been  a  favorite  with  the  dog,  but  ever 
afterward  it  seemed  to  feel  itself  owing  a  debt  of 
gratitude  to  its  deliverer." 

The  dog  in  question  lives  at  Canterbury,  where 
his  intellect  and  accomplishments  have  made  him 
well  known. 

We  see  in  the  behavior  of  the  animal,  not  only 
jealousy,  but  memory,  hatred,  and  revenge,  and 
a  sense  of  moral  responsibility.  The  remem- 
brance of  the  favors  lavished  on  his  rival  rankled 
in  his  memory,  and  the  result  was  hatred  culmi- 
nating in  revenge  when  he  found  an  opportunity. 
Then  he  knew  that  he  had  done  wrong  in  killing 
the  duck,  and,  just  as  a  man  would  do  who  had 
committed  a  murder,  tried  to  conceal  the  evi- 
dences of  his  crime  by  burying  the  body  of  his 
victim.  So  deeply  was  his  conscience  pricked, 
that,  when  he  found  himself  arrested  by  the  bush, 
he  ran  the  risk  of  dying  of  cold  and  hunger  rath- 
er than  allow  himself  to  be  discovered. 

Even  in  such  rarely  tamed  animals  as  the 
common  mouse  the  feeling  of  jealousy  has  been 
known  to  be  so  strong  as  to  lead  to  murder.  A 
young  lady,  one  of  my  correspondents,  had  suc- 
ceeded in  taming  a  common  brown  mouse  so 
completely  that  it  would  eat  out  of  her  hand, 
and  allow  itself  to  be  taken  off  the  floor.  She 
had  also  a  tame  white  mouse  in  a  cage. 

One  morning,  when  she  went  to  feed  the  white 
mouse  as  usual,  Jie  found  it  lying  dead  on  the 
bottom  of  the  cage,  and  beside  it  was  its  murder- 
er, the  brown  mouse.  The  cage  being  opened, 
the  latter  made  its  escape,  but  how  it  had  con- 
trived to  gain  admission  was  a  mystery. 

An  instance  has  lately  come  to  my  knowledge 
where  jealousy  was  restrained  for  a  considerable 
time  through  fear,  and  at  last  broke  out  when 
the  cause  of  fear  was  removed.  The  story  is 
told  by  a  lady  living  in  Edinburgh  : 

"  I  remember  a  Malay  cock  of  mine  manifest- 
ing a  mixture  of  hatred  and  revenge  to  a  dead 
rival,  equal  in  fury,  if  not  in  power,  to  what  a 
Malay  man,  in  similar  circumstances,  might  have 
shown. 

"  We  had  a  very  splendid  dunghill  cock,  who 
kept  the  Malay  (a  cowardly  caitiff)  in  great  sub- 
jection. This  cock  died  suddenly.  His  rival 
came  by  chance  on  his  dead  body.  He  instantly 
sprung  on  it,  kicked,  spurred,  and  trampled  upon 
the  lifeless  bird,  and,  standing  upon  the  corpse, 
flapped  his  wings,  and  crowed  himself  hoarse 
with  the  most  disgusting  energy. 


"  The  r.ascal  took  instant  possession  of  the 
harem,  and  I  often  thought  that  the  hens  must 
sadly  have  missed  their  old  lord.  He  always 
used  to  share  any  titbits  with  them — a  practice 
carefully  avoided  by  his  successor,  the  Eastern 
despot,  who  greedily  kept  the  best  to  himself." 

Again,  comparing  man  with  beast,  we  see  that 
the  bird  in  this  case  acted  exactly  as  a  savage 
does  when  his  enemy  has  fallen.  The  savage 
exults  over  the  dead  body  of  an  enemy,  especial- 
ly if  that  foe  has  been  very  formidable  in  life, 
and  mutilates  in  futile  revenge  the  form  which 
he  feared  when  living. 

Take  the  following  story,  which  is  related  in 
Bennett's  "Wanderings  in  New  South  Wales," 
transform  the  actors  into  human  beings,  and  see 
how  exactly  the  birds  acted  like  human  beings, 
and  how  the  plot  of  a  powerful  drama  might  be 
constructed  from  the  story.  The  birds  in  ques- 
tion were  the  beautiful  little  " Mandarin" ducks, 
which  even  in  China  are  exceedingly  valuable. 
They  are  proverbial  for  their  conjugal  fidelity, 
and  in  marriage  processions  a  pair  of  these 
ducks  are  carried  about  as  emblems  of  the  love 
which  ought  to  animate  the  newly  married 
couple. 

"  The  following  circumstance  of  fidelity  was 
mentioned  to  me  as  having  occurred  in  two  birds 
of  this  species : 

"A  drake  was  stolen  one  night,  with  some 
other  birds,  from  Mr.  Beale's  aviary.  The  beau- 
tiful male  was  alone  taken,  and  the  poor  duck 
was  left  behind.  The  morning  following  the  loss 
of  her  husband,  the  female  was  seen  in  a  most 
disconsolate  condition;  brooding  in  secret  sor- 
row, she  remained  in  a  retired  part  of  the  aviary, 
pondering  over  the  severe  loss  she  had  just  sus- 
tained. 

"While  she  was  thus  delivering  her  soul  to 
grief,  a  gay,  prim  drake,  who  had  not  long  before 
lost  his  dear  duck,  which  had  been  accidentally 
killed,  trimmed  his  beautiful  feathers,  appeared 
quite  handsome,  and,  pitying  the  forlorn  condi- 
tion of  the  bereaved,  waddled  toward  her,  and, 
after  devoting  much  of  his  time  and  all  his  at- 
tention to  the  unfortunate  female,  he  offered  her 
his  protection.  She,  however,  refused  all  his  of- 
fers, having  made,  in  audible  quacks,  a  solemn 
vow  to  live  and  die  a  widow  if  her  mate  did  not 
return. 

"From  the  day  on  which  she  met  with  her 
loss  she  neglected  her  usual  avocations,  forsook 
her  food  and  usual  scenes  of  delight,  where  she 
loved  to  roam  with  him  now  absent,  and  to  ex- 
cite his  brave  spirit  to  drive  away  all  the  rivals 
that  might  attempt  even  to  approach  them.  But 


94 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


those  fleeting  hours  of  enjoyment  had  passed, 
perhaps  never  to  return,  and  no  consolation  that 
could  be  offered  by  any  of  her  tribe  had  the  least 
effect.  Every  endeavor  was  made  to  recover  the 
lost  bird,  as  it  was  not  expected  that  the  beauti- 
ful creature  would  be  killed. 

"Some  time  elapsed  after  the  loss,  when  a 
person,  accidentally  passing  a  hut,  overheard 
some  Chinese  of  the  lower  class  conversing  to- 
gether. He  understood  sufficient  of  their  lan- 
guage to  find  out  that  they  said,  *  It  would  be  a 
pity  to  kill  so  handsome  a  bird.'  'How,  then,' 
said  another,  '  can  we  dispose  of  it  ?'  The  hut 
was  noted,  as  it  was  immediately  suspected  that 
the  lost  Mandarin  drake  was  the  subject  of  the 
conversation.  A  servant  was  sent,  and,  after 
some  trouble,  recovered  the  long-lost  drake  by 
paying  four  dollars  for  him.  He  was  then 
brought  back  to  the  aviary  in  one  of  the  usual 
cane  cages. 

"As  soon  as  the  bird  recognized  the  aviary, 
he  expressed  his  joy  by  quacking  vehemently  and 
flapping  his  wings.  The  interval  of  three  weeks 
had  elapsed  since  he  was  taken  away  by  force ; 
but  when  the  forlorn  duck  heard  the  note  of  her 
lost  husband,  she  quacked,  even  to  screaming 
with  ecstasy,  and  flew  as  far  as  she  could  in  the 
aviary  to  greet  him  on  his  restoration.  Being 
let  out  of  the  cage,  the  drake  immediately  entered 
the  aviary,  and  the  unfortunate  couple  were  again 
united.  They  quacked,  crossed  necks,  bathed 
together,  and  then  are  supposed  to  have  related 
all  their  mutual  hopes  and  fears  during  the  long 
separation. 

"  One  word  more  on  the  unfortunate  widower 
who  kindly  offered  consolation  to  the  duck  when 
overwhelmed  with  grief.  She,  in  a  most  ungrate- 
ful manner,  informed  her  drake  of  the  impudent 
and  gallant  proposals  he  made  to  her  during  his 
absence.  It  is  merely  supposition  that  he  did 
so;  but,  at  all  events,  the  result  was  that,  on 
the  day  following  his  return,  the  recovered  drake 
attacked  the  other,  pecked  his  eyes  out,  and  in- 
flicted on  him  so  many  other  injuries  as  to  occa- 
sion his  death  in  a  few  days.  Thus  did  this  un- 
fortunate drake  meet  with  a  premature  and  vio- 
lent death  for  his  kindness  and  attention  to  a 
disconsolate  lady.  It  may  perhaps  be  correctly 
written  on  his  grave,  'A  victim  to  conjugal  fidel- 
ity.'" 

The  very  same  feelings  which  would  have  act- 
uated human  beings  under  similar  circumstances 
influenced  these  birds.  There  is  conjugal  love  af- 
fected by  sudden  and  violent  separation ;  there  is 
conjugal  fidelity  in  absence ;  there  is  sorrow  for  the 
loss  of  one  who  is  loved  ;  there  is  joy  in  reunion  ; 
there  is  jealousy  at  an  attempt  to  steal  the  affec- 


tion of  a  partner ;  and,  finally,  there  is  revenge 
swiftly  taken  upon  the  offender.  There  also  is 
the  power  of  language,  as,  without  a  very  definite 
language  of  her  own,  the  duck  could  not  have 
told  her  partner  of  a  particular  drake,  and  so 
drawn  upon  him  the  vengeance  of  her  husband. 


TYRANNY. 

Another  of  the  many  traits  of  character  which 
are  common  to  man  and  the  lower  animals  is  tyr- 
anny, i.  e.,  the  oppression  of  the  weak  by  the 
strong,  whether  that  strength  belong  to  the  body 
or  the  mind.  In  many  of  the  animals,  tyranny 
takes  its  most  obvious  form,  the  strong  not  only 
oppressing  the  weak,  but  killing  and  eating  them, 
even  though  they  be  of  the  same  species.  A  hu- 
man cannibal  acts  just  in  the  same  way,  eating 
bis  enemy  after  he  has  killed  him. 

As  to  the  milder  forms  of  tyranny,  there  is 
scarcely  an  animal  in  which  it  may  not  be  found, 
and  it  is  manifested  quite  strongly  in  the  insects. 
There  is  a  notice  in  Hardwicke's  Science  Gossip, 
for  October,  1871,  of  tyranny  shown  by  a  tiger- 
beetle  toward  its  fellows,  one  insect  assaulting 
another,  and  driving  it  away,  "much  in  the  same 
manner  as  sparrows  do  when  they  have  secured 
some  morsel  of  food  which  they  wish  to  keep  to 
themselves." 

In  the  Daily  News  of  November,  1873,  there 
was  a  brief  and  amusing  account  of  tyranny  as 
shown  by  crabs.  The  writer  had  been  observing 
the  proceedings  of  the  creatures  in  the  Brighton 
Aquarium : 

"It  is  well  worth  while  to  watch  the  move- 
ments and  manoeuvres  of  the  hermit  crab.  He 
is  discerning,  has  a  keen  eye  to  his  own  con- 
venience, pugnacious  when  any  one  comes  be- 
tween him  and  the  object  of  his  desire,  and  un- 
relenting in  following  up  his  advantage.  He 
contends  for  some  practical  and  substantial  end, 
pursuing  conquest  not  for  the  sake  of  the  bare 
submission  of  his  adversary. 

"  These  remarks  are  induced  by  our  own  ob- 
servation of  the  amusing  habits  of  this  little  ani- 
mal. Some  time  back  we  were,  one  bright 
morning,  watching  the  beautiful  gleam  of  the 
herring,  as  its  scales  reflected  the  sunshine  in 
varied  colors,  which  played  into  one  another,  re- 
minding one  of  a  beautiful  'shot'  silk  dress.  Our 
attention  was  suddenly  attracted  by  a  commotion 
among  the  hermit  crabs,  many  of  which  are  in 
the  same  tank  with  the  herrings. 

"  These  crabs,  as  is  generally  known,  have  re- 


TYRANNY. 


95 


course  to  the  cover  of  a  whelk,  or  other  shell,  to 
protect  the  abdomen,  which  is  very  soft  and  vul- 
nerable. Suddenly  one  of  the  number,  a  large 
specimen,  whose  adopted  dwelling  was  of  some- 
what narrow  dimensions,  gave  chase  to  a  small 
crab  which  occupied  a  shell  much  larger  than 
that  of  his  bigger  neighbor.  The  little  one,  ap- 
parently quite  alive  to  the  sinister  intentions  of 
his  pursuer,  took  to  flight  as  quickly  as  possi- 
ble, and  his  attempts  to  escape  were  continued 
with  the  utmost  vigor  until  further  effort  was 
hopeless.  The  way  in  which  he  dodged  around 
and  behind  oysters,  and  whatever  afforded  him 
a  temporary  cover,  was  amusing  in  the  ex- 
treme. 

"At  length  he  was  overtaken,  and  then  a  reg- 
ular pitched  battle  ensued.  The  little  one  re- 
sisted manfully,  but  was  finally  overcome,  the 
more  bulky  combatant  having,  after  the  most 
strenuous  exertions,  succeeded  in  forcing  his  claws 
between  the  body  of  his  weaker  opponent  and  his 
adopted  shell,  and  with  the  most  frantic  exertion 
turning  him  out.  They  then,  apparently  as  a 
matter  of  course,  exchanged  shells,  the  ousted 
tenant  yielding  submissively  to  his  fate,  and  qui- 
etly adapting  himself  to  his  reduced  circum- 
stances. In  this  encounter,  from  beginning  to 
end,  all  the  qualities  we  began  by  enumerating 
were  exemplified  in  these  little  creatures— the 
discernment  with  which  the  larger  crab  fixed 
upon  the  shell  which  exactly  suited  him,  the  de- 
termination with  which  he  followed  up  his  inten- 
tion of  possessing  himself  of  it,  and  the  pugnac- 
ity and  perseverance  displayed  by  both  in  the 
course  of  the  encounter. 

"This  was  evidently  no  fight  for  mere  fight- 
ing's sake ;  but  the  whole  proceeding  evinced  a 
settled  plan,  pursued,  on  the  one  hand,  with  the 
greatest  determination,  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
met  with  the  most  obstinate  resistance." 

I  have  often  witnessed  similar  scenes,  not  only 
in  the  Aquarium,  but  in  the  rock  pools  along  the 
coast. 

Tyranny  is  invariably  seen  among  gregarious 
animals,  the  herd  or  flock  being  always  under 
the  command  of  one  individual,  who  has  fought 
his  way  to  the  front,  and  who  will  rule  with  im- 
perious sway  until  he  becomes  old,  and  in  turn  is 
ousted  by  a  younger  and  more  vigorous  rival. 
The  same  quality  is  very  familiar  to  us  in  our 
poultry-yards,  where,  no  matter  how  many  may 
be  the  number  of  birds,  one  cock  invariably  as- 
sumes the  leadership. 

As  a  rule,  he  takes  his  honors  meekly,  but 
bases  his  conduct  on  the  old  Roman  principle, 
"  Parcere  subjectis,  sed  debellare  superbis.' 


There  are  mostly  one  or  two  younger  cocks, 
vith  whom  he  does  not  interfere,  unless  they  at- 
empt  to  dispute  his  sway,  or — most  unpardon- 
ible  offense  of  all— to  win  the  affections  of  any  of 
lis  harem.  In  such  cases  an  immediate  attack 
is  the  result.  If  he  win  (as  he  generally  does, 
f  only  by  reason  of  his  prestige),  the  state  of  so- 
ciety remains  unaltered.  But,  if  he  lose  the  bat- 
le  (which  generally  means  losing  his  life),  the 
conqueror  succeeds  to  his  place,  and  takes  as  a 
matter  of  right  all  his  possessions,  including  his 
tiarem. 

It  is  curious  to  trace  the  analogy  between  these 
birds  and  human  beings,  especially  those  of  the 
East,  whether  at  the  present  day  or  in  the  an- 
cient times,  as  depicted  in  the  Old  Testament. 
Substitute  human  beings  for  birds,  and  the  coun- 
try at  large  for  the  poultry-yard,  and  the  resem- 
blance is  exact.  There  are  many  petty  chief- 
tains ;  but  among  them  is  sure  to  be  one  more 
mighty  than  the  rest,  who  holds  his  place  by  su- 
perior force,  either  of  intellect  or  military  power. 
If  challenged  by  one  of  the  inferior  chiefs  and  is 
victorious,  he  retains  his  post;  while,  if  he  is 
vanquished,  his  conqueror  takes  his  place,  his 
property,  and  his  wives.  And  it  is  another  cu- 
rious point  that,  whether  with  men  or  birds,  the 
members  of  the  harem  seem  to  trouble  themselves 
very  little  about  the  change  of  master. 

The  Scriptures  are  full  of  allusions  to  the  in- 
variable custom  that  the  conqueror  takes  the 
possession  of  the  harem  belonging  to  the  van- 
quished. David  did  so  with  regard  to  the  wom- 
en of  Saul's  household.  "  I  anointed  thee  king 
over  Israel,  and  I  delivered  thee  out  of  the  hand 
of  Saul.  And  I  gave  thee  thy  master's  house, 
and  thy  master's  wives  into  thy  bosom  "  (2  Sam. 
xii.  7, 8).  So,  when  Nabal  died  after  his  defiance 
of  David,  the  latter,  as  a  matter  of  course,  took 
possession  of  Nabal's  wife,  together  with  the  rest 
of  his  property.  Similarly,  as  had  been  foretold 
by  the  prophet  Nathan,  when  Absalom  rebelled 
against  David,  he  publicly  took  possession  of  his 
father's  harem  as  a  sign  that  he  had  assumed  the 
kingdom. 

To  those  unacquainted  with  Oriental  customs, 
it  seems  strange  and  cruel  that  when  Adonijah 
asked  Bathsheba  to  persuade  her  son  Solomon  to 
give  him  Abishag  as  a  wife,  he  should  be  at  once 
put  to  death.  But,  as  explained  by  those  cus- 
toms, he  had  for  the  second  time  committed  high- 
treason.  He  was  Solomon's  elder  brother,  and 
had  already  made  an  attempt  to  gain  the  throne. 
He  had  failed,  and  had  been  pardoned  on  condi- 
tion of  future  good  conduct.  But  his  demand 
for  the  hand  of  Abishag,  who  had  belonged  to 
David's  harem,  was  considered  equivalent  to  a 


96 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


second  rebellion;  and  so  he  and  his  principal 
supporters,  Joab  and  Abiathar,  met  with  instant 
punishment,  the  former  with  loss  of  life,  and  the 
latter  "with  deprivation  and  banishment. 

The  whole  scene  is  worthy  of  notice.  Bath- 
sheba  visits  her  son  in  full  court,  and  prefers  her 
request.  Solomon,  who  treated  her  with  the 
greatest  respect  as  the  king's  mother,  instantly 
treats  Adonijah's  demand  as  an  overt  act  of  high- 
treason.  "And  King  Solomon  answered  and 
said  unto  his  mother,  And  why  dost  thou  ask 
Abishag  the  Shunammite  for  Adonijah  ?  Ask 
for  him  the  kingdom  also,  for  he  is  mine  elder 
brother;  even  for  him  and  for  Abiathar  the 
priest,  and  for  Joab  the  son  of  Zeruiah." 

Now  Solomon  was  a  man  remarkable  for  his 
mercy  in  an  unmerciful  time  and  among  a  ruth- 
less race.  He  was  probably  the  only  Oriental 
monarch  who  would  not  have  secured  himself  on 
the  throne  by  putting  to  death  all  his  brethren — 
a  custom  which  prevails  to  the  present  day.  Yet 
he  not  only  spared  Adonijah's  life,  but  forgave 
him  after  actual  rebellion.  This  second  offense 
was,  however,  unpardonable,  the  demand  of  Da- 
vid's wife  being  tantamount  to  a  claim  on  David's 
throne,  and  therefore  he  paid  the  penalty  with 
his  life,  as  being  a  dangerous  man  who  could  not 
be  trusted.  Besides  these  instances,  there  are 
many  other  allusions  to  the  custom  scattered 
through  the  Scriptures. 

The  closeness  of  the  parallel  between  man  and 
beast  is  most  remarkable.  In  both  there  is  a 
single  despotic  ruler  who  allows  no  rival ;  and  in 
both  an  attempt  to  gain  the  affections  of  one  of 
the  harem  is  considered  tantamount  to  a  chal- 
lenge for  sovereignty,  and  is  treated  accordingly. 

Sometimes  a  very  curious  sort  of  tyranny  is 
shown  where  a  number  of  creatures  are  confined 
in  the  same  place.  Mr.  Bennett  has  some  re- 


;  marks  on  this  subject  in  connection  with  the 
Mandarin  ducks  which  have  already  been  men- 
tioned under  the  head  of  Jealousy. 

Speaking  of  the  feeding-time  in  the  aviary,  he 
says  :  "  It  is  at  this  time  that  we  can  also  observe 
'  the  querulous  disposition  of  these  animals.     The 
|  males  of  one  and  the  same  kind  of  a  different 
j  species  endeavor  to  grasp  all  the  supplies  for 
themselves,  unmindful  of  the  wants  of  others, 
and  will  not  even  permit  their  companions  to 
perform  their  ablutions  without  molestation,  al- 
though they  may  have   themselves   completed 
what  they  required. 

"I  often  observed  the  Mandarin  ducks  excite 
the  drakes  to  attack  other  males  or  females  of 
the  same  species,  as  well  as  any  other  kind  of 
bird  (not  too  powerful)  in  the  aviary,  against 
whom  the  lady  may  have  taken  a  dislike  from 
some  cause  or  causes  unknown  to  us.  There  al- 
ways appear  to  be  one  pair  who  exercise  a  tyr- 
anny over  the  others,  not  permitting  them  to 
wash,  eat,  or  drink,  unless  at  the  pleasure  of 
these  little  aristocrats. " 

But,  of  all  tyrants,  commend  me  to  a  spoiled 
dog,  who  is  even  worse  than  a  spoiled  child. 
Obedience  is  a  thing  unknown  to  him.  If  he  is 
wanted  to  go  out  for  a  walk  and  prefers  to  stay 
at  home,  he  stays  at  home,  and  his  master  goes 
out  alone.  If  he  wants  to  go  for  a  walk,  he 
makes  his  master  go  with  him,  and  take  the  di- 
rections which  he  prefers.  Perhaps  a  better  ex- 
ample of  tyranny  has  never  been  given  than  Dr. 
J.  Brown's  history  of  the  Skye  terrier  "  Duchie." 
The  little  animal  so  completely  domineered  over 
her  mistress  that  the  latter  could  not  even  choose 
her  own  dinner,  but  was  obliged  to  have  what- 
ever Duchie  preferred,  and  was  once  kept  out  of 
bed  for  half  a  winter's  night  because  Duchie  had 
got  into  the  middle  and  declined  to  move. 


CONSCIENCE. 


97 


CHAPTER  XII. 
CONSCIENCE. 

Definition  of  Conscience. — Its  Exercise  by  the  Lower  Animals,  and  Comparison  with  the  Conscience  of  Man. 
—Sense  of  Moral  Responsibility  iu  the  Dog.— The  Butcher's  Dog,  his  Master,  and  the  Old  Woman's  Mon- 
ey.—Parallel  between  Dog-servants  and  Human  Servants.— Voluntary  Responsibility.— "Vic"  and  the 
Croquet-hoops. — Zeal  outrunning  Discretion. — The  Robber  in  Custody  of  "  Help." — Dog  Cooks  and  Nurse- 
maids.— "Offy"  Saving  the  Servant's  Life.— Duty  Paramount.—"  Bree's  "  Fearful  Leap — Mistaken  Ideas 
of  Duty. — Church-go'ing  Dogs. — "Apollo's"  Leap. — "Boxer's"  Notion  of  Duty. — Epigram  from  "Salma- 
gundi."— Sin  and  Penitence. — Suicide  or  Sorrow. — A  Dog's  Grave. — A  Dog's  Sense  of  Wrong-doing. — 
Guardianship.— The  Cat  and  the  Butcher.—"  Ungka's  "  Theft  aud  Restitution.—"  Tokla,"  the  Hunting- 
dog,  and  the  Sheep. 


To  those  who  have  never  studied  the  ways  of 
the  lower  animals,  it  may  seem  strange  to  assert 
that  they,  as  well  as  ourselves,  possess  conscience, 
i.  e.,  a  sense  of  moral  responsibility,  and  a  capa- 
bility of  distinguishing  between  right  and  wrong. 
It  is  necessarily  developed  strongest  in  those  an- 
imals which  are  placed  under  the  rule  of  man, 
and  especially  in  those  which,  like  the  dog,  be- 
long to  his  household,  and  are  made  his  compan- 
ions. Conscience,  in  their  dealings  with  man,  is 
their  religion,  and  they  often  exercise  it  in  a  way 
which  would  put  many  a  human  being  to  shame. 

It  is  this  feeling  which  induces  the  dog  to  make 
itself  the  guardian  of  its  master's  property,  and 
often  to  defend  that  property  at  the  risk  of  its 
life.  For  example,  if  a  dog  be  placed  in  charge 
of  its  master's  dinner,  the  faithful  animal  will 
never  touch  a  morsel  of  food,  however  hungry  it 
may  be.  Nay,  a  dog  would  rather,  as  an  ordi- 
nary rule,  die  of  starvation  than  eat  the  food  which 
belonged  to  his  master.  We  often  see  field-la- 
borers working  at  one  end  of  a  large  field,  while 
their  spare  clothes  and  their  dinner  are  at  the 
other  end,  guarded  by  a  dog.  They  are  quite 
easy  about  the  safety  of  their  property,  knowing 
well  that  the  dog  will  not  allow  any  one  to  touch 
either  the  clothes  or  the  provisions. 

A  still  stronger  instance  of  moral  responsibili- 
ty in  a  dog  has  just  come  before  me. 

A  poor  woman,  who  lived  in  an  unprotected 
part  of  Scotland,  became  unexpectedly  possessed 
of  a  large  sum  of  money,  with  which  property  she 
was  as  much  troubled  as  **  Captain  Jack"  with 
the  money  which  he  dared  not  spend,  was  afraid 
to  show,  and  could  not  carry  about  him  for  lack 
of  pockets.  She  would  have  taken  it  to  the  bank, 
but  could  not  leave  the  house. 

At  last  she  asked  the  advice  of  a  butcher  of  her 
G 


acquaintance,  telling  him  that  she  was  afraid  to 
live  alone  in  the  house  with  such  a  sum  of  money. 

"  Never  fear,"  said  the  butcher  ;  "  I  will  leave 
my  dog  with  you,  and  I'll  warrant  you  that  no 
one  will  dare  to  enter  your  house."  So  toward 
evening  the  dog  was  brought,  and  chained  up 
close  to  the  place  where  the  money  was  kept. 

In  the  middle  of  the  night  a  robber  made  his 
way  into  the  house,  and  was  proceeding  to  carry 
off  the  money,  when  he  was  seized  by  the  dog, 
who  held  him  a  prisoner  until  assistance  came. 
The  thief  was  the  butcher  himself,  who  thought 
that  he  had  made  sure  of  the  money.  He  had 
not  considered  that  his  dog  was  a  better  moral- 
ist than  himself,  and,  instead  of  betraying  a  de- 
fenseless woman,  would  even  take  her  part  against 
his  own  master. 

The  woman  kindly  pardoned  the  intending  rob- 
ber ;  and  I  hope  that  for  the  future  he  took  a  les- 
son from  his  own  dog,  and  amended  the  evil  of 
his  ways. 

A  rather  notable  instance  is  now  before  me, 
where  the  capacity  of  conscience,  as  it  is  mani- 
fested in  the  lower  animals,  is  very  well  shown. 
There  is  a  retriever  belonging  to  a  Scotch  lawyer, 
who  was  a  very  conscientious  animal  in  his  way; 
that  is  to  say,  as  far  as  his  intellect  would  carry 
him,  he  was  absolutely  conscientious ;  but,  un- 
fortunately, there  was  a  limit  beyond  which  con- 
science could  not  assert  itself. 

For  example,  no  matter  how  hungry  he  might 
be,  the  dog  might  be  safely  left  in  a  room  where 
the  dainties  which  he  best  loved  were  left  unguard- 
ed :  not  a  morsel  of  food  would  he  touch.  But 
he  did  not  offer  any  objection  to  the  cat  when  she 
stole  the  food  from  the  table  ;  neither  did  he  dis- 
play any  scruples  in  sharing  with  her  the  product 
of  her  theft. 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


Neither  was  he  conscientious  enough  to  submit 
passively  to  imprisonment  when  his  master  wish- 
ed to  dispense  with  his  company  :  he  had  a  knack 
of  gnawing  cords  asunder,  forcing  shutters  and 
opening  doors,  which  showed  to  a  certainty  that 
the  animal  was  actuated  in  such  matters  by  rea- 
son, and  net  by  instinct. 

This  faithful  animal  was  killed  suddenly  by  a 
railway  train.  His  master  writes  of  him  as  fol- 
lows: "He  was  the  most  honest  animal  I  ever 
knew,  and  I  only  wish  that  we  could  get  servants 
as  honest.  Upon  the  whole,  I  think  that  he  was 
a  much  more  exemplary  character  than  many 
men  and  women  whom  I  have  known,  and  I 
should  be  very  happy  to  meet  him  again  in  some 
other  sphere.  I  would  rather  hunt  with  him  on 
a  planetoid,  or  a  ring  of  Saturn,  than  spend  my 
time  in  the  narrow  heaven  which  some  zealots 
would  arrogate  to  themselves  and  their  small  sect, 
if  they  could.  He  certainly  had  much  more  char- 
ity than  they." 

Not  only  does  the  dog  guard  the  property 
which  is  intrusted  to  its  charge,  but  it  often  goes 
a  little  further  and  assumes  a  charge  on  its  own 
account. 

I  was  lately  staying  with  a  friend  in  the  coun- 
try, and  became  on  very  excellent  terms  with  his 
little  bull-terrier,  named  "  Vic."  On  the  second 
day  after  my  arrival  a  croquet  match  was  ar- 
ranged, and  I  was  asked  to  change  the  position  of 
the  hoops,  so  as  to  suit  the  latest  development  of 
the  game.  Accordingly,  I  went  to  the  lawn,  fol- 
lowed by  Vic,  who  took  no  particular  notice,  but 
lounged  about  the  lawn  with  no  apparent  object. 

Presently  my  friend  joined  me.  "  Do  you 
know,"  said  he,  "why  Vic  is  loafing  about  here?" 

"  No,  except  that  she  prefers  the  garden  to  the 
house." 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it.  She  has  come  to  see  that 
you  do  not  take  away  any  thing  out  of  the  garden ; 
and  so  I  came  to  warn  you  not  to  take  a  hoop  or 
a  peg  off  the  lawn." 

It  appeared  that  she  always  acted  in  the  same 
manner  toward  people  whom  she  did  not  know 
intimately,  although,  after  a  time,  she  had  confi- 
dence and  let  them  alone.  In  point  of  fact,  after 
two  or  three  days  had  elapsed,  Vic  never  troubled 
herself  about  me. 

On  one  occasion  her  fidelity  took  an  unpleas- 
ant form.  Her  master  had  lent  his  chaise  to  a 
friend,  who  was  driving  it,  and  who  came  to  a  hill. 
He  dismounted,  and  was  stooping  to  put  on  the 
skid,  when  Vic  flew  at  him,  having  an  idea  in  her 
head  that  he  was  going  off  with  the  wheel.  One 
of  the  oddest  points  in  Vic's  conduct  is  that,  as 
if  out  of  a  sense  of  politeness,  she  does  not  make 


her  watch  an  ostentatious  one,  but  merely  keeps 
in  view  the  object  which  she  is  guarding,  and  the 
person  of  whom  she  is  suspicious. 

In  the  cases  which  I  have  mentioned,  Vic  was 
entirely  wrong  in  her  surmises.  A  remarkable 
instance,  however,  has  reached  me,  where  the 
dog  was  right,  and  acted  in  a  way  that  would 
have  been  creditable  to  any  human  being : 

"  Of  '  Help,'  a  Newfoundland  dog,  several  sto- 
ries are  told,  and  there  was  one  especially  which 
showed  that  his  sense  of  responsibility  overcame 
that  of  friendship.  His  master  owned  a  wood- 
yard,  from  which  there  had  been  a  constant  se- 
ries of  mysterious  thefts.  At  last  the  dog  was 
put  into  the  yard  for  the  night,  in  hopes  that  he 
might  scare  away  the  thief. 

"  Next  morning,  Help  was  found  guarding  one 
of  the  men  belonging  to  the  premises,  who  had  a 
bundle  of  wood  upon  him.  The  man  was  aware 
that  the  dog  knew  him  perfectly  well,  and  had 
presumed  on  the  animal's  forbearance.  Help, 
however,  assumed  so  fierce  an  aspect  that  even 
the  certainty  of  detection  did  not  give  him  cour- 
age to  oppose  the  faithful  creature,  nor  even  to 
get  rid  of  his  compromising  load. " 

Dr.  J.  Brown  relates  a  similar  anecdote  of 
"Rab."  He  flew  at  the  throat  of  a  man  who 
tried  to  rob  his  master,  pulled  him  down,  and  re- 
mained in  charge  of  the  fallen  man  while  his  mas- 
ter went  on  his  journey.  After  a  while  he  was 
seen  coming  alone  to  rejoin  his  master.  It  ap- 
peared that  the  robber  was  a  neighbor  whom  the 
dog  knew,  and  so,  giving  him  a  thorough  fright, 
he  let  him  off,  after  subjecting  him  to  very  humil- 
iating treatment. 

It  is  well  known  that  in  India  the  elephant  is 
sometimes  taught  to  take  charge  of  children,  es- 
pecially if  they  happen  to  belong  to  his  driver ; 
but  the  dog  appears  to  be  even  a  more  curious 
nurse  than  the  elephant.  The  dog  Help,  how- 
ever, who  took  prisoner  the  midnight  robber,  was 
accustomed  to  act  as  nurse,  and  performed  the 
task  as  well  as  any  elephant  could  have  done, 
and  indeed  better  than  some  nursemaids  do. 

"  At  times  Help  could  take  the  place  of  the 
nursemaid,  and  was  often  intrusted  with  the  en- 
tire charge  of  a  little  girl,  only  old  enough  to 
crawl  on  the  floor.  As  long  as  she  amused  her- 
self safely,  Help  looked  on  with  quiet  dignity; 
but  whenever  she  moved  toward  the  fire,  or  in 
any  direction  that  seemed  dangerous,  he  put  his 
great  paw  upon  her,  and  turned  her  another  way. " 

One  of  my  friends  has  written  to  say  that  she 
knows  a  dog  in  Berkshire  who  acts  on  the  same 
principle  as  Help,  though,  on  account  of  his  small 
size,  he  can  not  do  without  human  assistance. 
When  the  cook  puts  a  saucepan  on  the  fire,  she 


CONSCIENCE. 


99 


sets  the  dog  to  watch  it,  and  can  go  about  other 
business  in  perfect  security,  knowing  that,  if  the 
saucepan  should  boil  over,  he  will  call  her.  He 
is  also  put  in  charge  of  the  cradle  ;  and  if  the 
child  should  wake  up,  goes  and  fetches  the  nurse- 
maid. In  these  cases,  besides  the  sense  of  respon- 
sibility, there  is  much  reasoning  power,  and  a  ca- 
pability of  understanding  human  language.  And 
it  must  be  noticed  that  the  dog  last  mentioned 
never  brings  the  cook  to  the  cradle,  nor  the  nurse 
to  the  saucepan. 

A  somewhat  similar  case  is  related  by  a  lady 
whom  I  have  known  for  some  years : 

"One  of  my  earliest  recollections  is  of  a  fat, 
black,  curly-haired  old  dog,  called  *  Offy. '  This 
was  an  abbreviation  of  orphan,  his  mother  hav- 
ing died  immediately  after  his  birth,  and  his  father 
being  unknown.  Offy  was  the  delight  of  our 
hearts,  the  kindest,  gentlest,  and  most  attached 
of  dogs.  At  night  he  always  lay  at  the  top  of 
the  stairs  leading  to  the  nursery,  so  that  no  one 
could  enter  without  his  permission. 

"  Once,  when  we  were  at  the  seaside,  my  nurse 
had  a  rheumatic  fever,  and  was  quite  helpless.  By 
chance  one  day  she  was  left  alone,  propped  up 
with  pillows  in  a  large  arm-chair  near  the  fire. 
Suddenly  the  house  resounded  with  Offy's  barks. 
One  maid  was  out  walking  with  us,  and  the  oth- 
er was  busy  getting  dinner  in  the  kitchen,  when 
Offy's  barks  attracted  her  notice.  Eunning  up- 
stairs, she  was  met  by  the  dog,  who  ran  down  to 
meet  her,  caught  her  by  the  dress,  pulled  her  up 
the  stairs,  and  there,  lying  on  the  floor,  with  her 
head  and  arm  on  the  fender,  lay  the  poor  nurse, 
unable  to  move.  Without  the  dog,  she  must  have 
been  burned  to  death." 

Here  we  have  a  variety  of  qualities  which  cer- 
tainly do  not  belong  to  the  mortal  part  of  a  living 
being,  whether  man  or  beast.  First,  there  is  sym- 
pathy with  suffering.  Then  there  is  reason,  tell- 
ing the  animal  that  the  fallen  woman  was  in  dan- 
ger, and  could  not  help  herself.  Reason  also 
told  the  dog  that  he  was  incapable  of  helping  her 
himself,  and  that  he  must  summon  some  one  who 
had  the  power.  He  then  had  recourse  to  his  own 
language,  which  he  knew  would  be  understood, 
and  called  for  help  as  intelligibly  as  if  he  had 
spoken  human  words. 

Sometimes  conscience  assumes  the  form  of 
moral  responsibility,  the  animal  being  determin- 
ed, at  any  risk,  to  perform  the  task  which  is  al- 
lotted to  it.  A  gentleman,  to  whom  I  am  indebt- 
ed for  many  original  anecdotes  about  various  an- 
imals, has  sent  me  the  following  account  of  de- 
termination to  fulfill  a  duty  : 

"'Bree,'  an  English  water-spaniel  belonging 


to  me,  was  bred  from  two  London  prize  dogs  of 
that  class. 

'  A  few  years  ago,  his  former  master  went  to 
St.  Abb's  Head  for  shooting.  At  the  '  Staples 
Heugh '  he  winged  a  duck.  The  bird,  in  agony, 
rolled  over  the  precipice ;  while  poor  Bree  ran 
,vith  such  impetuosity  that  he  jumped  over  into 
the  sea,  a  height  exceeding  one  hundred  feet,  and 
fell  into  some  forty  feet  of  water. 

"  When  he  came  to  the  surface,  there  was  no 
place  near  where  he  could  land,  and,  seeing  the 
duck  rounding  the  'West-hare-cars,'  he  struck 
out,  and,  after  following  it  past  the  '  Skelly,'  the 
'Ramfands,'  the  Goose -cruives,'  etc.,  overtook 
it  at  the  '  Claw  fords,'  in  'Hare-law-cove  Bay.' 
Grasping  the  duck  in  his  mouth,  he  proceeded 
with  it  up  '  Eel-car-brae,'  one  of  the  most  diffi- 
cult passes  on  St.  Abb's  Head,  and,  on  reaching 
his  master,  laid  the  bird  at  his  feet." 

The  distance  which  the  dog  swam  is  somewhere 
about  a  mile.  The  gentleman,  through  whom  this 
anecdote  was  sent  to  me,  writes  as  follows  :  "As 
to  the  story  of  St.  Abb's  Head,  you  would  require 
to  see  it  before  you  could  appreciate  what  a  dread- 
ful leap  the  dog  had  taken."  I  possess  photo- 
graphs of  Bree,  his  master,  and  St.  Abb's  Head. 
The  latter  word,  by  the  bye,  is  an  abbreviation 
of  Ebba,  the  remains  of  whose  convent  are  still 
to  be  traced,  close  to  the  head  itself.  "  Staples  " 
is  a  corruption  of  "steeples,"  a  word  derived 
from  some  rocks  that  stand  steeplewise  in  the  sea. 

The  fall  must  have  been  a  tremendous  one, 
and  how  the  dog  escaped  instant  death  is  more 
than  I  can  imagine.  The  shock  must  have  been 
a  very  severe  one,  and  the  animal  would  have  been 
quite  justified  in  coming  ashore  at  once.  But 
he  knew  that  his  duty  was  to  catch  the  duck,  and 
he  did  so.  That  he  did  receive  a  very  great  shock 
is  evident  from  the  fact  that,  although  a  retriev- 
er, and  by  nature  a  good  water-dog,  he  has  since 
this  adventure  contracted  such  a  horror  of  the 
sea  that  he  can  scarcely  be  induced  to  enter  it. 

Sometimes  the  dog  takes  up  a  wrong  idea  of 
duty,  but  perseveres  in  it,  notwithstanding  all  ob- 
stacles. In  the  two  following  instances  the  dog 
considered  that  iiis  duty  lay  in  accompanying  his 
master,  and  set  himself  to  discover  some  plan  of 
overcoming  obstacles : 

"A  friend  of  ours,  a  clergyman  in  one  of  those 
rural  Welsh  villages  whose  name  we  find  some 
difficulty  in  writing,  and  still  more  in  pronounc- 
ing, had  a  spaniel,  sent  from  a  friend  in  England 
to  the  rectory  of  C .  I  forget  now  the  cor- 
rect spelling,  but  no  matter. 

"  Soon  after  his  arrival,  the  dog  proved  him- 
self a  most  determined  church-goer.  The  first 
attempt  took  the  family  quite  by  surprise.  They 


100 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


knew  not  he  had  accompanied  them,  until  they 
had  taken  their  seats  ;  so  they  very  wisely  push- 
ed him  underneath,  where  he  remained  during 
the  service,  one  of  the  quietest  members  of  his 
master's  congregation.  The  next  Sunday,  when 
the  church  bells  commenced,  the  dog  was  shut 
in  the  library ;  but,  soon  after  the  service  hcd 
begun,  he  jumped  through  the  window,  pushed 
open  the  church  door,  walked  with  all  proper  de- 
mureness  to  his  own  pew,  and  resumed  his  for- 
mer position  under  the  seat,  where  he  was  again 
allowed  to  remain.  On  the  third  Sunday,  the 
dog's  movements  were  more  vigilantly  watched. 
Directly  the  bells  began,  he  started  off  full  trot  to 
the  church,  once  more  occupied  his  old  corner, 
defied  alike  the  threats  and  persuasions  of  the 
servant  to  remove  him,  and,  on  the  arrival  of  the 
family,  welcomed  them  triumphantly. 

"  One  more  last  attempt  was  made  on  the  suc- 
ceeding Sunday  to  keep  him  away,  which  was 
only  a  partial  success.  Early  in  the  morning  he 
was  shut  in  a  shed,  from  which  he  could  find  no 
egress ;  but,  directly  the  bells  began,  he  struck 
up  a  loud  howling  accompaniment,  which  he  con- 
tinued during  the  whole  of  church-time,  and,  as 
the  church  was  close  to  the  rectory,  he  could  be 
heard  at  intervals  during  the  service,  of  course 
disturbing  the  risible  powers  of  the  junior  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation,  so  that  nothing  remain- 
ed but  to  send  him  back  to  his  former  master  in 
England." 

The  dog  in  question  ought  to  have  learned  by 
heart  an  epigram  in  a  curious  and  very  scarce 
quarto  book  called  "  Salmagundi."  It  was  pub- 
lished in  1791,  and  I  have  a  copy,  which  was 
presented  by  the  author  to  my  grandfather.  It 
is,  in  its  way,  as  interesting  as  are  Gilray's  polit- 
ical caricatures,  comprising,  as  it  does,  the  famous 
"  Wilkes  and  Liberty"  times,  and  abounding  with 
witty  little  jeux  (Tesprit  in  Latin  and  English. 
Here  is  the  epigram  which  has  been  mentioned  : 

ON   A   FAVORITE    DOG  WHO    REGULARLY  ACCOM- 
PANIED  HIS   MISTRESS   TO   CHURCH. 

"'Tis  held  by  folks  of  deep  research, 
He's  a  good  dog  who  goes  to  church  ; 
As  good  I  hold  him  every  whit, 
Who  stays  at  home  and  tnms  the  spit ; 
For  though  good  dogs  to  church  may  go, 
Yet  going  there  don't  make  them  so." 

A  somewhat  similar  instance  occurred  to  my- 
self. I  was  making  some  arrangements  in  the 
church,  and  had  left  my  dogs  outside,  thinking 
that  they  would  amuse  themselves  by  swimming 
in  a  neighboring  pond,  as  they  were  accustomed 
to  do.  I  had,  however,  not  been  in  the  building 
for  many  minutes  when  a  scratching,  scrambling 
sound  was  heard,  followed  by  a  heavy  thump, 


and  up  came  my  bull-dog  "Apollo,"  looking  de- 
lighted to  see  me. 

I  put  him  out  at  the  door,  but  could  not  im- 
agine how  he  had  made  his  entrance.  Pres- 
ently there  was  another  scratching,  and  I  saw 
Apollo's  head  at  a  little  window  which  had  been 
left  open  for  ventilation.  He  contrived,  in  some 
curious  manner,  to  hold  on  by  his  fore  paws  un- 
til he  scrambled  his  hind  legs  upon  the  sill,  and 
then  forced  himself  through  an  aperture  so  small 
that  he  could  not  jump,  but  had  to  let  himself 
fall.  The  window  is  at  a  considerable  height 
from  the  ground ;  and,  as  a  rather  wide  trench 
runs  around  the  building,  Apollo  had  to  make  a 
tremendous  leap  to  reach  the  window-sill.  He 
had  evidently  failed  several  times,  the  scratches 
on  the  old  wall  showing  where  he  had  slid  down. 
He  always  was  a  fine  jumper,  but  this  window  must 
have  tested  his  leaping  powers  to  the  utmost. 

Sometimes  we  see  in  mankind  an  instance  of 
good-hearted  blundering,  wrong-headed  honesty; 
and  much  the  same  mixture  of  characteristics 
is  to  be  found  in  the  dog. 

There  was  a  brilliant  black-and-tan  terrier, 

named  "  Boxer,"  belonging  to  a  Mr.  B ,  who 

was  then  in  India,  and  about  to  proceed  on  the 
welcome  journey  home.  Boxer  had  one  pre- 
vailing idea  in  his  doggish  mind,  namely,  that 
he  had  perpetually  to  take  care  of  some  one  or 
something.  He  watched  his  master's  property 
with  the  utmost  fidelity.  Once,  after  the  return 
of  the  family  to  Scotland,  a  couple  of  Irish  beg- 
gars came  by,  and  were  given  a  good  meal,  the 
empty  dish  to  be  left  outside  the  house.  When 
they  had  finished,  the  woman,  seeing  that  the 
cook  was  not  in  the  kitchen,  slipped  in  and  stole 
a  loaf  of  bread.  She  had  not  calculated  on 
Boxer,  who  was  out  in  a  moment,  caught  the 
woman  by  the  bare  ankle,  and  there  held  her 
until  his  master  came  himself  to  take  charge  of 
the  thief. 

Had  the  dog  restricted  himself  to  such  guardian- 
ship, he  would  have  been  a  most  excellent  guard- 
ian ;  but,  unfortunately,  he  was  possessed  with  a 
rooted  idea  that  every  one  who  approached  his 
mistress  meant  to  hurt  her,  and  must  therefore 
be  assaulted.  When  she  was  ill,  and  lying  on  a 
couch,,  he  used  to  sit  by  her  side,  and  was  so  care- 
ful in  his  watch  that  he  would  not  allow  even  her 
husband  to  approach  without  seizing  him.  He 
did  not  hurt  his  master,  though  he  bit  his  ankle 
a  hundred  times,  by  way  of  reminding  him  that 
his  mistress  was  not  to  be  disturbed. 

In  one  way  he  was  really  useful,  especially 
during  the  residence  of  the  family  in  India.  Dur- 
ing her  illness,  his  mistress  had  a  very  great 
antipathy  to  centipedes,  cockroaches,  and  other 


CONSCIENCE. 


101 


creeping  things,  of  which  there  is  ample  store 
in  that  country.  Boxer  somehow  found  out  that 
they  were  obnoxious  to  his  mistress,  and  used 
to  keep  a  sharp  lookout  for  them  if  they  ap- 
proached her.  Sometimes,  if  he  were  not  at 
hand,  and  he  heard  a  scream,  he  would  dash 
off  to  his  mistress,  look  about  for  the  cause  of 
her  annoyance,  and  straightway  demolish  it. 

In  his  anxiety  to  do  his  duty  to  his  mistress, 
Boxer  sometimes  allowed  his  zeal  to  outrun  his 
discretion. 

Once,  during  the  voyage,  the  ship  was  becalmed 
in  the  tropics,  so  that  the  man  at  the  wheel  had 

a  sinecure.     Mrs.  B was  lying  in  the  cabin 

at  the  time.  The  man,  seeing  a  needle  lying  just 
outside  the  door  of  the  cabin,  went  and  picked 
it  up,  and  was  instantly  pinned  by  Boxer,  who 
chose  to  think  that  he  was  stealing  the  property 
of  his  mistress.  He  did  not  hurt  the  man,  but 
frightened  him  so  much  that  he  hallooed  loud 
enough  to  alarm  all  the  inmates  of  the  ship. 

Among  others,  Mrs.  B ran  out  to  see  what 

was  the  matter,  and  advised  the  man  to  put  the 
needle  down  again.  This  he  did,  when  Boxer  at 
once  released  him. 

He  behaved  in  a  somewhat  similar  manner 
when  the  ship  arrived  in  the  Cove  of  Cork,  though 
in  this  instance  with  more  show  of  right.  The 
stores  of  biscuit  had  been  got  up  on  the  main- 
deck,  for  the  purpose  of  ridding  them  of  the  cock- 
roaches, weevils,  and  other  unpleasant  creatures 
that  are  apt  to  infest  provisions.  A  number  of 
Irishmen  came  on  board  with  milk,  eggs,  etc., 
for  sale,  and  one  of  them,  thinking  no  harm, 
began  to  eat  a  biscuit.  Boxer,  however,  con- 
sidered himself  the  guardian  of  the  ship's  stores, 
flew  at  the  man,  and  drove  him  away. 

When  home  was  reached,  he  took,  in  his  wrong- 
headed  way,  a  violent  antipathy  to  the  clergy- 
man. Perhaps  he  objected  to  a  black  dress, 
after  being  accustomed  to  the  light  costumes  of 
India.  At  all  events,  he  could  not  endure  the 
gentleman,  and  always  seemed  to  know  instinct- 
ively whenever  he  was  approaching  the  house. 
On  these  occasions  it  was  necessary  to  shut  him 
up ;  and  even  then  he  used  to  tear  and  scratch 
at  the  door  so  furiously  that  he  greatly  damaged 
it.  The  oddest  part  of  the  proceeding  was  that 
as  soon  as  the  gentleman  was  in  the  room  with 
his  master  and  mistress  Boxer  did  not  trouble 
himself  about  him. 

This  queer,  faithful,  blundering  dog  lived  for 
nearly  twenty  years  in  the  family. 

A  very  common  form  of  conscience  among 
the  lower  animals  is  that  which  may  be  defined 
as  a  recognition  of  having  done  wrong,  and  an 
acknowledgment  that  punishment  is  deserved. 


It  is  exactly  the  same  feeling  which  induced 
Adam  to  hide  himself  after  he  had  fallen  into 
sin.  Animals  have  in  their  way  very  decided 
ideas  as  to  right  and  wrong  ;  and  when  they 
have  committed  an  act  which  they  know  will 
offend  their  master,  they  display  as  keen  a  con- 
science as  could  be  exhibited  by  any  human  being 
self-convicted  of  a  sin  ;  arid,  in  many  cases,  the 
offense  is  acknowledged,  and  the  creature  remains 
miserable  until  pardon  has  been  granted.  This 
we  call  in  ourselves  penitence. 

Two  examples  of  this  phase  of  conscience  are 
here  given.  As  to  the  first,  I  was  in  doubt 
whether  to  place  it  under  the  head  of  Reason- 
ing, Language,  or  Love  of  Owner.  But,  as  it 
illustrates  the  power  of  conscience  in  the  lower 
animals,  I  have  placed  it  under  the  present  head, 
without,  however,  removing  the  passages  relating 
to  the  other  qualities  : 

"Reasoning  powers  are  certainly  exercised  by 
dogs ;  how  would  they  otherwise  know  when 
Sunday  came  around?  Our  large  dog, 'Bran,'  a 
cross  between  a  retriever  and  a  deerhound,  never 
thinks  of  following  us  to  church,  though  he  reg- 
ularly comes  in  on  Sunday  afternoon,  in  expec- 
tation of  the  walk  which  he  knows  his  young 
masters  take  between  the  services ;  and  on  week- 
days he  will  even  run  up-stairs  if  he  hears  us 
moving  about  the  bedrooms,  which  he  in  some 
way  connects  with  walking  out.  He  looks  so 
intelligent  that  it  is  difficult  to  believe  he  does 
not  understand  conversations,  and  we  talk  to 
him  often  as  if  he  were  a  human  being.  He  is 
very  good-tempered,  and  particularly  so  with  cats 
and  children.  When  we  were  at  Worthing,  two 
years  ago,  a  large  white  cat  belonging  to  the 
house  constantly  shared  his  bed ;  and  on  more 
than  one  occasion  the  cat,  dog,  and  the  little 
grandchild  of  our  landlady  were  found  curled 
up  together. 

"  Whenever  he  did  wrong  as  a  young  dog,  we 
found  the  greatest  punishment  was  to  take  no 
notice  of  him,  and  refuse  his  offered  paw.  On 
one  occasion,  I  remember,  he  ran  off,  and  was 
missing  all  day.  When  he  came  back,  he  was 
shut  up  in  his  sleeping-place,  after  we  had  shaken 
our  heads  at  him  and  turned  away.  Although 
he  must  have  been  very  hungry,  he  would  not 
touch  his  food,  but  sat  close  to  the  door,  whining 
and  crying,  till  we  made  it  up  with  him  by  telling 
him  he  was  forgiven,  and  taking  his  offered  paw, 
when  he  ate  his  supper  and  went  quietly  to  bed. 
His  love  for  us  is  unbounded,  and  he  almost  over- 
whelms us  sometimes  by  his  affectionate  em- 
braces, especially  if  we  have  been  away,  when  he 
almost  talks  in  his  joy  at  seeing  us  again." 


102 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


A  lady  has  sent  me  a  short  account  of  the  be- 
havior of  another  dog,  which  clearly  shows  that 
the  animal  possesses  the  attribute  of  conscience. 
The  little  animal  has  been  taught  many  tricks, 
among  which  is  the  accomplishment  of  shaking 
hands.  This  he  will  seldom  condescend  to  do 
without  much  coaxing ;  but  if  he  has  done  any 
thing  wrong,  he  comes  up,  looking  very  much 
ashamed  of  himself,  and  voluntarily  offers  his  paw. 

I  may  here  refer  to  the  dog  "  Help,"  who  went 
eheep-killing  while  his  master  thought  that  he 
was  chained  up  at  home.  It  was  a  clear  case  of 
conscience,  though  not  accompanied  by  peni- 
tence. He  knew  that  he  was  acting  wrongly, 
and  that  his  master  would  be  offended,  and  there- 
fore endeavored  to  avoid  punishment  by  destroy- 
ing the  evidence  of  his  crime. 

How  painfully  keen  can  be  the  sense  of  con- 
science in  the  dog  is  shown  by  the  following  ac- 
count, which  is  written  by  a  brother  clergyman 
well  known  in  the  literary  world  : 

"A  Newfoundland  dog  of  great  age,  but  still 
the  gentle,  good-tempered  friend  of  his  master's 
children,  lay  one  morning  sound  asleep.  One  of 
his  playmates,  wishing  that  he  should  accom- 
pany their  walk,  gave  him  a  kick.  The  poor 
dog,  suddenly  awakened,  seized  sharply  the  little 
girl's  leg,  but  without  really  hurting  her.  The 
nurse  thereupon  scolded  him,  pretended  to  beat 
him  with  a  pocket-handkerchief,  and,  when  he 
wanted  to  go  with  them,  shut  the  door  in  his  face. 

"  One  of  the  men  soon  afterward  found  him 
hang  with  his  head  in  a  ditch,  dragged  him  out, 
and  brought  him  to  the  stables,  where  he  lay,  re- 
fusing to  eat  or  drink.  Ere  long  he  was  again 
found  at  the  same  ditch,  dead.  Whether,  in  re- 
morse and  despair  of  forgiveness,  he  had  success- 
fully repeated  an  attempt  at  suicide,  or  whether 
he  had  lain  down  there  to  die  of  a  broken  heart, 
I  do  not  know." 

One  or  the  other  was  evidently  the  case,  and, 
whether  it  were  suicide  or  sorrow,  conscience  was 
the  real  cause  of  death. 

The  same  writer  proceeds  to  say :  ' '  You  also 
nsked  for  the  epitaph  on  our  poor  little  friend's 
grave.  It  is  as  follows  : 

'  "COLL," 

'FAITHFUL,  LOVING,  GENTLE,  WISE, 
BY  HIS  UNTIMELY  DEATH 

MADE  EMPTY  NO  SMALL  SPACE 
IN  OUR  HOME  AND  HEART. 

'Alas!  too  soon,  dear  loving  friend, 
Onr  close  companionship  doth  end; 
Yet  sense  of  Right,  heart  true  and  fond, 
Mast  have,  methiuks,  some  glad  BEYOND: 


I      "Poor  H. !  it  was  her  first  great  grief,  and 
yet  lives.    A  cousin  spoke  lightly  of  the  epitaph 
j  as  she  stood  by  the  grave  the  other  day  in  her 
garden. 

"  '  Please  come  away,  G.,'  said  H.,  '  and  don't 
let  us  speak  about  it.  Something  has  been  left 
out  in  your  composition ;  you  can  not  under- 
stand.' " 

With  regard  to  the  supposition  that  the  for- 
mer of  these  dogs  committed  suicide,  it  is  not  so 
groundless  as  might  be  supposed.     Dogs  certain- 
j  ly  know  that  water  will  drown  other  beings,  or 
j  they  would  not  take  the  trouble  of  rescuing  them  ; 
!  and  it  is  therefore  but  natural  to  infer  that  they 
j  are  aware  that  the  same  element  will  drown  them- 
selves.    There  is  more  than  one  instance  known 
of  a  dog  deliberately  drowning  itself;  and  the 
instance  which  has  just  been  narrated  looks  very 
much  as  if  the  same  course  had  been  adopted. 

The  following  little  story  is  one  of  Lady  E.'s 
anecdotes,  and  shows  how  not  only  dogs,  but 
cats,  can  possess  a  sense  of  moral  responsibility  : 

"I  trust  the  following  anecdote  of  my  cat 
*  Rosy  '  may  be  found  interesting. 

"You  know  that  she  was  given  to  me  when 
quite  a  kitten,  and  she  is  now  nearly  fourteen 
years  old.  She  has  always  had  a  great  aversion 
to  dogs,  and,  no  matter  what  their  size  might  be, 
she  would  drive  them  away  if  they  came  on  our 
premises. 

"Whenever  the  servants  left  the  kitchen,  she 
would  sit  near  the  door,  and,  if  a  stranger  ap- 
proached, growled  like  a  dog.  One  day  the  cook 
had  left  the  cat  alone,  and  the  butcher's  boy 
came  for  orders  as  usual.  Keceiving  no  reply,  he 
opened  the  door  and  walked  inside.  Perceiving 
him  to  be  a  stranger,  Rosy,  to  his  surprise,  flew 
at  him,  and  held  him  tightly  till  the  cook  re- 
turned. Instead  of  being  angry  at  the  attack, 
the  lad  admired  her  bravery,  said  she  was  as 
good  as  a  house-dog,  and  often  rewarded  her 
with  meat  from  his  shop." 

In  Bennett's  "  WTanderings  in  New  South 
Wales,"  the  Siamese  ape  "Ungka"  is  mentioned 
as  possessing  the  sense  of  moral  responsibility, 
though  the  mode  in  which  it  was  manifested  was 
rather  of  the  ludicrous  than  the  lofty  kind  : 

"One  instance  of  a  very  close  approximation 
to,  if  it  may  not  be  considered  absolutely  an  ex- 
ercise of  the  reasoning  faculty,  occurred  in  this 
animal. 

"  Once  or  twice  I  lectured  him  for  taking  away 
my  soap  continually  from  the  washing-place, 
which  he  would  remove  for  his  amusement  from 
that  place,  and  leave  it  about  the  cabin.  One 


CONSCIENCE. 


morning  I  was  writing,  the  ape  being  present  in 
the  cabin,  when,  casting  my  eyes  toward  him,  I 
saw  the  little  fellow  taking  the  soap.  I  watched 
him,  without  his  perceiving  that  I  did  so ;  and 
he  would  occasionally  cast  a  furtive  glance  to- 
ward the  place  where  T  sat.  I  pretended  to  write ; 
he,  seeing  me  busily  occupied,  took  the  soap,  and 
moved  away  with  it  in  his  paws.  When  he  had 
walked  half  the  length  of  the  cabin,  I  spoke  qui- 
etly, without  frightening  him.  The  instant  he 
found  I  saw  him  he  walked  back  again,  and  de- 
posited the  soap  nearly  in  the  same  place  from 
which  he  had  taken  it. 

"There  was  certainly  something  more  than 
instinct  in  that  action.  He  evidently  betrayed  a 
consciousness  of  having  done  wrong,  both  by  his 
first  and  last  actions  ;  and  what  is  reason,  if  that 
is  not  an  exercise  of  it?" 

I  know  a  little  child,  not  two  years  old,  whose 
favorite  amusement  is  to  get  at  a  box  full  of 
Windsor  soap,  and  disperse  the  cakes  all  over 
the  room,  in  all  sorts  of  places.  She  is  not  al- 
lowed to  do  so  without  permission;  and  more 
than  once,  when  she  has  been  detected  in  doing 
so,  she  has  acted  exactly  as  Ungka  did,  i.  e.,  re- 
placed the  soap,  and  tried  to  look  as  if  she  had 
not  touched  it.  In  both  cases  the  process  of 
reasoning  is  identical ;  and  so  is  the  sense  of 
conscience,  or  moral  responsibility. 

A  curious  example  of  the  power  of  conscience 
is  related  by  Mr.  Mansfield  Parkyns,  in  his  well- 
known  work  on  Abyssinia.  He  had  a  semi- 
tamed  hunting-dog  (one  of  the  wild  animals  of 
the  country),  and  was  much  interested  in'  the 
habits  of  the  animal,  which  he  named  "Tokla." 

"Once  I  remember  being  attracted  into  the 
yard  by  a  bustling  noise  as  of  animals  running 
about,  intermixed  with  my  pet's  shrill,  squeaking 
voice.  On  going  out,  nothing  was  apparent  but 
a  sheep  lately  bought  for  dinner,  which,  however, 
was  running  about  with  every  appearance  of  ner- 
vousness. There  was  Tokla,  whose  voice  I  had 
just  heard  uttering  notes  of  unusual  excitement, 
lying  quietly  in  a  corner,  shamming  sleep,  but 
peeping  at  me  from  a  corner  of  one  of  his  little 
wicked  black  eyes. 

"I  said  nothing,  but  concealed  myself  in  a 
shed,  through  the  branches  that  formed  the  sides 
of  which  I  could  observe  all  that  passed.  For  a 
short  time  the  little  brute  lay  motionless  in  the 
same  position  as  I  had  left  him.  After  a  while, 
however,  he  got  up  stealthily,  stretching  himself 
as  if  just  awake,  but  at  the  same  time  taking  a 
furtive  glance  to  see  that  all  was  quiet.  Having 


10:; 


satisfied  himself  oX  this  point,  he  madj 

at  the  poor  sheep,  with  his  ears  bad 

ing  horribly.    The  sh 

only  standing  and  butting  at  its  little  opponent 

when  driven  into  a  corner,  and  evidently  in  a 

desperate  fright. 

"Tokla  seemed  to  heed  little  whether  hoof 
or  horns  met  his  advances,  but  kept  on,  now 
rushing  furiously  in,  now  dodging  for  a  more  fa- 
vorable opening,  incessantly  for  half  an  hour.  I 
doubt  not,  though  scarcely  six  pounds'  weight, 
he  would  have  ended  by  walking  into  the  mutton 
of  his  adversary  had  I  not  felt  compassion  for 
the  poor  sheep's  sufferings,  and  disturbed  my  lit- 
tle friend  in  his  pursuit.  Indeed,  I  could  not 
have  allowed  him  to  indulge  his  sporting  propen- 
sities so  long  as  he  did  except  as  a  study  of  his 
natural  ideas,  manners,  and  customs." 

Here  is  a  distinct  case  of  conscience,  and  of 
cheating  in  order  to  conceal  his  delinquency. 
He  was  perfectly  aware  that  he  was  doing  wrong 
in  attacking  the  sheep,  and  so  feigned  to  be  sleep- 
ing when  his  master  came  on  the  scene.  This  is 
the  more  curious,  because  Tokla  was  not  one  of 
the  domestic  dogs,  but  a  predacious  animal  which 
had  only  been  recently  and  partially  tamed. 

Almost  every  one  who  has  possessed  pet  ani- 
mals must  have  noticed  how  often  they  exhibit 
remorse,  i.  <?.,  a  keen  sense  of  having  done  wrong, 
their  conscience  having  convicted  them  of  their 
misconduct,  and  their  whole  demeanor  showing 
that  they  are  sensible  of  their  fault. 

Here  is  an  example:  A  Mr.  B had  a  mag- 
nificent staghound,  named  "Gwynne."  The 
dog  had  one  fault :  he  was  not  fond  of  children, 
and  therefore  was  given  away,  as  unsuitable  for 
his  owner's  house. 

His  new  master  lived  in  Sutherlandshire,  and 
sent  the  dog  to  one  of  his  farthest  farms,  where 
he  was  taken  in  charge  by  the  shepherd's  wife. 
One  morning,  after  the  woman  had  made  the 
porridge  for  breakfast,  she  went  out  of  the  house, 
and  on  returning  met  the  dog,  who  had  evident- 
ly been  eating  the  porridge.  With  an  expression 
of  anger  she  struck  him  on  the  head,  whereupon 
Gwynne  left  the  place,  and  was  never  seen  again, 
though  advertisements  and  liberal  offers  of  re- 
ward were  issued. 

This,  however,  is  not  all.  Several  times  pre- 
viously he  had  been  given  away,  and  had  always 
made  his  way  back  to  his  old  master  ;  but  this 
time  he  did  not  do  so,  evidently  because  he  felt 
himself  rightfully  in  disgrace  for  bad  conduct, 
and  he  did  not  dare  to  show  himself  in  his  mas- 
ter's presence. 


104 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


CHAPTER  XIH. 

SYMPATHY  AND  FRIENDSHIP. 

Love  and  its  Various  Phases  of  Development.— Sympathy  between  Animals  of  the  Same  Species.— Dr.  J. 
Brown's  Story  of  "Nipper"  and  the  Destitute  Pointer. — Protection  of  the  Weak. — "Pizarro"  aud  the 
Terrier.— "  Mungo  "  and  his  Big  Friend.— The  Ludicrous  Side  of  Sympathy.— Church  Bells  and  their  Ef- 
fects.— Cats  and  their  Comrades. — Division  of  Labor.— Sympathy  in  the  Weasel. — Sympathy  between  An- 
imals of  Different  Species.— Several  Anecdotes  of  Dogs  and  Cats.— The  Dog  and  the  Persecuted  Cock.— 
Dog  Feeding  Kids.— Cat-sympathy.— The  Grandmother,  the  Daughter,  and  the  Dead  Grandchild.  —A  Gen- 
erous Redbreast. — Animals  Sympathizing  with  Man. — Story  of  "Nelly"  and  her  Mistress. — Nelly's  Death 
and  Last  Request — "Prettina's"  Sympathy  with  a  Sufferer.— "Flo,"  the  Family  Consoler.— Friendship 
Defined.— "Piucher"  and  the  Quarrelsome  Sheep-dog.— Friendship  between  Cats.— The  Story  of  "Dick" 
and  "Kate." — Kittens  and  Dog. — Friendship  between  Cows  and  a  Sheep;  Cats  and  Horses. — Friendship 
between  a  Horse,  a  Cat,  and  a  Lame  Chicken.— Friendship  between  a  Cat  and  Ducks.— Friendship  be- 
tween a  Dog  and  Ducks ;  Java  Sparrows  and  Doves ;  a  Monkey  and  a  Hen. 


WE  are  now  approaching  the  loftiest  charac- 
teristic which  adorns  humanity — namely,  Love — 
and  are  about  to  inquire  how  far  it  is  shared  by 
the  lower  animals.  It  has  many  phases  of  de- 
velopment, the  first  of  which  is  sympathy,  i.  e., 
the  capacity  of  feeling  for  the  sufferings  of  an- 
other. I  shall  show  that  many  and  perhaps  all 
living  creatures  possess  the  capacity  of  sympa- 
thy, and  that  in  numerous  cases  it  is  not  restrict- 
ed to  their  own  species,  but  is  extended  to  those 
beings  which  appear  to  have  very  little  in  com- 
mon with  each  other. 

Usually,  however,  sympathy  is  exhibited  be- 
tween animals  of  the  same  species,  and  is  often 
seen  in  the  dog.  Such,  for  example,  is  the  Avell- 
known  instance  where  one  dog  was  seen  sup- 
porting the  broken  leg  of  another ;  also  the  fact 
that  a  dog  which  has  been  cured  of  some  injury 
will  take  a  fellow-sufferer  to  his  benefactor — an 
example  of  which  I  knew  personally.  I  need 
hardly  observe  that  such  sympathy  could  not 
be  carried  out  unless  the  animals  possessed  a 
language  sufficiently  defined  to  transmit  ideas 
from  one  to  the  other. 

I  will  begin  with  a  few  instances  of  sympathy 
between  animals  of  the  same  species,  and  place 
at  their  head  Dr.  J.  Brown's  graphic  account 
of  his  dog  "Nipper:" 

"Many  years  ago  I  got  a  proof  of  the  unseen 
and  therefore  unhelped  miseries  of  the  homeless 
dog.  I  was  walking  down  Duke  Street,  when  I 
felt  myself  gently  nipped  in  the  leg.  I  turned, 
and  there  was  a  ragged  little  terrier  crouching 
and  abasing  himself  utterly,  as  if  asking  pardon 
for  what  he  had  done.  He  then  stood  up  on 


end,  and  begged  as  only  these  coaxing  little  ruf- 
fians can. 

"Being  in  a  hurry,  I  curtly  praised  his  per- 
formance with  '  Good  dog !'  clapped  his  dirty 
sides,  and,  turning  around,  made  down  the  hill ; 
when  presently  the  same  nip,  perhaps  a  little 
nippier — the  same  scene,  only  more  intense — the 
same  begging  and  urgent  motioning  of  his  short, 
shaggy  paws.  '  There's  meaning  in  this,'  said  I 
to  myself,  and  looked  at  him  keenly  and  differ- 
ently. He  seemed  to  twig  at  once,  and,  with  a 
shrill  cry,  was  off  much  faster  than  I  could  fol- 
low. He  stopped  every  now  and  then  to  see  that 
I  followed,  and,  by  way  of  putting  off  the  time 
and  urging  me,  got  up  on  the  aforesaid  portion 
of  his  body,  and  when  I  came  up  was  off  again. 

"This  continued  till,  after  going  through  sun- 
dry streets  and  by-lanes,  we  came  to  a  gate, 
under  which  my  short-legged  friend  disappeared. 
Of  course  I  couldn't  follow  him.  This  astonished 
him  greatly.  He  came  out  to  me,  and  as  much 
as  said,  '  Why  don't  you  come  in  ?'  I  tried  to 
open  it,  but  in  vain.  My  friend  vanished,  and 
was  silent.  I  was  leaving  in  despair  and  dis- 
gust, when  I  heard  his  muffled,  ecstatic  yelp  far 
off  around  the  end  of  the  wall ;  and  there  he  was, 
wild  with  excitement.  I  followed,  and  came  to 
a  place  where,  with  a  somewhat  burglarious  in- 
genuity, I  got  myself  squeezed  into  a  deserted 
coach-yard,  lying  all  rude  and  waste. 

"My  peremptory  small  friend  went  under  a 
shed,  and  disappeared  in  a  twinkling  through 
the  window  of  an  old  coach  body,  which  had 
long  ago  parted  from  its  wheels  and  become 
sedentary.  I  remember  the  arms  of  the  Fife 


SYMPATHY. 


105 


family  were  on  its  panel ;  and  I  dare  say  this 
chariot,  with  its  C  springs,  had  figured  in  1822 
at  the  King's  visit,  when  all  Scotland  was  some- 
what Fifeish.  I  looked  in,  and  there  was  a  point- 
er bitch,  with  a  litter  of  five  pups  ;  the  mother 
like  a  ghost,  and  wild  with  maternity  and  hun- 
ger ;  her  raging,  yelling  brood  tearing  away  at 
her  dry  dugs. 

"  I  never  saw  a  more  affecting  or  more  mis- 
erable scene  than  that  family  inside  the  coach. 
The  poor  bewildered  mother,  I  found,  had  been 
lost  by  some  sportsman  returning  south,  and 
must  have  slunk  away  there  into  that  deserted 
place  when  her  pangs  (for  she  has  her  pangs 
as  well  as  a  duchess)  came ;  and  there,  in  that 
forlorn  retreat,  had  she  been  with  them,  rushing 
out  to  grab  any  chance  garbage,  running  back 
fiercely  to  them — this  going  on  day  after  day, 
night  after  night.  What  the  relief  was  when  we 
got  her  well  fed  and  cared  for — and  her  chil- 
dren, filled  and  silent,  all  cuddling  about  her 
asleep,  and  she  asleep  too — awaking  up  to  assure 
herself  that  this  was  all  true,  and  that  there  they 
were,  all  the  five,  each  as  plump  as  a  plum — 

"  All  too  happy  in  the  treasure 
Of  her  own  exceeding  pleasure ;" 

what  this  is  in  kind,  and  all  the  greater  in  amount 
as  many  outnumber  one,  may  be  the  relief,  the 
happiness,  the  charity  experienced  and  exercised 
in  a  homely,  well-regulated  Dog  Home. 

"  Nipper — for  he  was  a  waif — I  took  home 
that  night,  and  gave  him  his  name.  He  lived 
a  merry  life  with  me — showed  much  pluck  and 
zeal  in  the  killing  of  rats,  and  incontinently  slew 
a  cat  which  had — unnatural  brute — unlike  his 
friend — deserted  her  kittens,  and  was  howling  of- 
fensively inside  his  kennel.  He  died,  aged  six- 
teen, healthy,  lean,  and  happy  to  the  last.  As 
for  Perdita  and  her  pups,  they  brought  large 
prices,  the  late  Andrew  Buchanan,  of  Coltbridge, 
an  excellent  authority  and  man— the  honestest 
*  dog-man '  I  ever  knew — having  discovered  that 
their  blood  and  her  culture  were  of  the  best. 

"I  have  subscribed  to  the  London  'Home' 
ever  since  I  knew  of  it,  and  will  be  glad  to  do 
as  much  more  for  one  of  our  own,  as  Edinburgh 
is  nearer  and  dearer  than  the  city  of  millions  of 
dogs  and  men.  And  let  us  remember  that  our 
own  dogs  are  in  danger  of  being  infected  by  all 
the  dog-diseases,  from  the  tragic  rabies  down 
to  the  mange  and  bad  manners,  by  these  pariah 
dogs  ;  for  you  know  among  dogs  there  is  in  prac- 
tical operation  that  absolute  equality  and  frater- 
nity which  has  only  been  as  yet  talked  of  and 
shot  at  by  and  for  us." 

In  this  charmingly  told  anecdote,  we  see  not 


only  sympathy,  but  self-denial,  reasoning,  and 
a  power  of  communicating  ideas  to  a  human 
being.  Being  a  waif  and  a  stray  himself,  with- 
out a  master,  and  dependent  upon  chance  for 
food,  the  little  animal  took  compassion  on  his 
suffering  companion,  and  went  out  to  beg  from 
man  the  assistance  which  he  was  not  able  to 
render  himself.  But  that  assistance  was  not 
meant  for  himself,  however  much  he  needed  it, 
but  for  his  companion  who  needed  it  more. 
Doubtless  his  instinct,  and  not  his  reason,  taught 
him  to  select  the  person  to  whom  he  applied  ; 
for  it  is  not  every  man  who  will  allow  himself 
to  be  nipped  in  the  leg  without  repaying  the 
bite,  however  gentle,  with  a  kick  or  a  blow.  An- 
imals, like  children,  always  know  their  friends. 

See,  for  example,  when  he  forgot  to  calculate 
the  difference  of  size  between  his  newly  found 
friend  and  himself.  Finding  that  the  man  could 
not  crawl  under  the  gate  like  himself,  the  dog 
calculated  the  dimensions  of  the  man,  and  pointed 
out  to  him  an  aperture  through  which  he  could 
make  his  way. 

A  lady  writes  to  me  to  say  that  a  friend  of 
hers  has  two  dogs  —  one  a  Newfoundland,  and 
the  other  a  small  black-and-tan  terrier.  They 
are  both  good  water-dogs,  and  are  now  in  the 
habit  of  swimming  about  together.  But,  on  the 
first  occasion  after  their  introduction  to  each 
other,  when  the  terrier  jumped  into  the  water, 
the  Newfoundland  dog  sprang  in  after  him  and 
put  him  on  the  bank,  evidently  thinking  that  he 
had  fallen  accidentally  into  the  water  and  might 
be  drowned. 

The  following  story  is  sent  by  another  lady : 

"We  had  a  noble  blood-hound,  'Pizarro,' 
sent  us  from  Manilla ;  although  his  kind  are 
supposed  to  be  more  or  less  savage,  he  was  most 
gentle  when  well  treated.  When  on  board  ship, 
he  became  much  attached  to  a  small  terrier, 
which  no  one  dared  to  molest  in  his  presence. 
The  sailors  used  to  take  the  little  terrier  in  the 
boat  with  them,  leave  Pizarro  on  board  the  ship, 
and  commence  teasing  his  little  friend — a  pro- 
ceeding which  rendered  the  blood-hound  most 
irritable.  He  afterward  extended  his  protect- 
ing power  to  one  of  those  ornamental  but  useless 
Danish  dogs,  which  we  had  at  that  time,  and 
who  always  rushed  to  his  kennel  for  protection 
if  threatened  with  punishment,  and  then  no  one 
dared  interfere." 

Several  anecdotes,  of  a  character  somewhat 
similar  to  the  following,  are  tolerable  well  known. 
I  am  glad,  therefore,  to  present  my  readers  with 
a  story  which  possesses  the  double  advantage  of 
being  both  original  and  authenticated  : 


106 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


"In  a  little  village  in  Wiltshire  there  lived 
a  small  black  terrier,  called  '  Mungo,'  and  a  large 
yard-dog,  the  two  being  on  the  most  amicable 
terms.  One  night  the  terrier  paid  a  neighbor- 
ing farm-house  a  visit,  in  order  to  offer  his  re- 
spects to  another  little  terrier,  whom  he  much 
admired.  But,  alas  for  his  gallant  intentions ! 
a  large  rough  watch-dog,  not  tolerating  rivals, 
set  on  him  savagely,  and  poor  Mungo  returned 
home  in  a  sorry  plight — bleeding,  torn,  limping, 
and  scarcely  able  to  crawl. 

"  He  lay  down  by  his  faithful  friend,  and  told 
of  his  piteous  wooing.  Fondly  and  gently  the 
big  dog  listened,  and  licked  his  friend's  wounds, 
who  for  many  a  day  lay  sorely  bruised,  and 
never  attempted  to  leave  home.  Some  time  after- 
ward, on  a  fine  moonlight  night,  some  laborers, 
who  were  returning  home  across  some  fields, 
met  the  two  friends  trotting  gayly  along.  Next 
morning  the  farmer  found  his  savage  watch-dog 
stretched  stiff  and  stark  on  the  straw  in  his 
yard." 

What  a  combination  of  qualities  do  we  not 
find  in  the  conduct  of  these  two  dogs.  They 
must  have  possessed  a  language  sufficiently  def- 
inite for  the  one  to  tell  the  other  what  had 
befallen  him,  and  to  designate  the  offender. 
They  then  must  have  arranged  that  the  big  dog 
was  to  avenge  the  injuries  inflicted  on  his  little 
friend  as  soon  as  the  latter  was  well  enough  to 
show  him  the  way.  There  was  memory  in  both 
dogs,  enabling  them  to  postpone  the  execution 
of  their  design  until  the  injured  dog  had  recov- 
ered ;  and  there  was  sympathy  for  suffering  in 
the  large  dog,  and  desire  for  revenge  in  the  little 
one.  The  two  dogs  in  question  belonged  to  a 
clergyman,  who  told  the  story  to  my  correspond- 
ent. 

There  are  instances  among  mankind  where 
even  the  best  of  feelings  present  a  ludicrous  side, 
and  animals  are  not  exempt  from  this  rule.  In 
the  following  example  the  sympathy  was  very- 
well  meant,  though  the  mode  of  showing  it  was 
exceedingly  ludicrous : 

"I  have  said  that  my  dog  'Lion,'  a  cross 
between  the  setter  and  the  sheep-dog,  always 
sets  up  a  piteous  howling  when  the  neighboring 
church  bells  begin  calling  the  villagers  to  morn- 
ing service  at  eleven.  At  the  first  slow  tolling 
he  takes  no  notice  of  the  bell,  but  as  they  ring 
the  changes  he  becomes  uneasy  and  wanders 
about ;  and  when  the  chimes  begin,  he  no  longer 
contains  his  feelings, but  howls  with  all  his  might. 
He  is  by  no  means  a  howling  dog,  and  bears  all 
the  other  ills  of  life  with  patience,  or,  at  most, 
indulges  in  a  whine. 


"Now  my  mother's  dog  'Snap,'  a  pure  Skye 
terrier,  is,  as  a  rule,  supremely  indifferent  to 
bells,  though  she  will  bark  by  the  hour  together 
at  a  treed  squirrel  or  at  some  distant  or  even 
imaginary  sound.  No  sooner,  however,  does 
she,  when  on  a  visit  to  my  cottage,  hear  Lion's 
cry  of  distress  and  remonstrance,  than  she  joins 
the  chorus,  and  the  two  dogs  will  sit  on  their 
haunches,  with  nose  in  air,  and  howl  there  un- 
til I  call  them  in,  or  until  the  bells  abate  their 
noise.  The  one  dog  affords  a  good  picture  of 
sorrow,  and  the  other  of  sympathy. " 

Perhaps  Snap  thought  that  it  was  only  good 
manners  to  show  that  she  felt  for  Lion's  suffer- 
ings, though  she  did  not  share  them  herself,  and 
so  she  joined  him  in  his  lamentations. 

It  may  be,  however,  that  Lion  had  more  cause 
for  complaint  than  we  might  fancy.  There  are 
many  dogs  to  whom  certain  sounds  are  not  only 
obnoxious,  but  actually  injurious.  This  is  well 
corroborated  by  a  curious  anecdote  communi- 
cated to  me  by  the  late  J.  Hatton,  M.D. : 

"With  regard  to  the  effects  of  sound  upon 
animals,  I  remember,  when  a  child,  my  brother 
going  into  the  country,  on  a  Sunday  afternoon, 
to  see  a  friend,  who  gave  him  a  young  pup, 
about  ten  weeks  old.  At  that  time  we  lived 
in  the  precincts  of  the  Cathedral.  The.  ringers 
were  accustomed  to  practice  every  Sunday  even- 
ing at  eight  o'clock.  No  sooner  did  they  begin 
than  the  dog  began  to  run  round  and  round  the 
room  at  a  furious  rate,  and  finally  rushed  under 
the  sofa,  where  the  poor  animal  almost  immedi- 
ately died  in  convulsions." 

Cats  are  often  kind  to  each  other,  sympathiz- 
ing under  difficulties,  and  helping  their  friends 
who  need  assistance.  One  of  my  friends  is  a 
great  admirer  of  cats  and  their  disposition,  and 
has  noted  many  of  their  ways.  One  of  her  cats 
was  rather  a  weak  animal,  and  was  unable  to 
carry  her  kittens  about  after  the  manner  of  cats. 
So,  when  she  wished  to  carry  her  kittens  from 
one  place  to  another,  she  was  accustomed  to 
impress  a  stronger  cat  into  her  service,  she  walk- 
ing by  the  side  of  her  friend  in  order  to  act  as 
guide. 

Another  of  the  cats,  when  oppressed  with  the 
cares  of  a  family,  did  exactly  what  a  human 
mother  does  when  she  can  afford  it.  She  em- 
ployed a  nursemaid,  i.  e.,  she  brought  a  half- 
grown  kitten,  and  placed  it  in  charge  of,  her 
young  while  she  went  for  a  ramble. 

In  Hardwicke's  Science  Gossip,  which  is  really 
a  treasure-house  of  information  for  those  who 
know  how  to  use  it,  are  many  anecdotes  of 


SYMPATHY. 


107 


sympathy  between  animals.  One  of  these  anec- 
dotes shows  reason  as  well  as  sympathy  in  the 
common  weasel. 

A  clergyman  was  driving  along  the  road  near 
Basingstoke,  when  his  horse  trod  on  a  weasel, 
which  could  not  get  out  of  the  way  in  time. 
The  little  animal  was  paralyzed,  its  spine  seem- 
ing to  be  broken,  so  that  it  could  not  move  its 
hind  legs.  Presently  another  weasel  came  out 
of  the  roadside,  went  up  to  the  injured  animal, 
and,  after  carefully  inspecting  the  invalid,  picked 
it  up  and  carried  it  to  the  side  of  the  road,  where 
it  would  not  be  endangered  by  traffic. 

Another  case  of  sympathy  between  creatures 
of  the  same  species  is  given  in  the  same  jour- 
nal. A  female  wood-pigeon  was  sitting  on  her 
eggs,  and  her  mate  was  close  at  hand.  A  heavy 
shower  of  rain  came  suddenly  on,  whereupon 
the  male  bird  took  up  a  position  above  his  mate 
(who  could  not  leave  her  eggs),  and  with  his 
spread  wings  formed  a  shelter  from  the  rain. 

We  will  now  pass  to  sympathy  between  ani- 
mals of  different  species.  The  hereditary  en- 
mity between  cat  and  dog  is  proverbial;  and  yet, 
when  in  good  hands,  they  are  sure  to  become  very 
loving  friends,  and  even  to  show  considerable 
sympathy  with  each  other.  Here  is  a  case  in 
which  the  animals  had  but  the  slightest  passing 
acquaintance  with  each  other.  The  anecdote 
which  immediately  follows  is  communicated  by 
the  same  lady : 

"  Compassion  was  shown  in  the  following  case. 
A  poor  little  cat  was  lying  very  ill  by  the  kitchen 
fire ;  another  cat  came  inquiringly  up.  A  Scotch 
terrier  (belonging  to  the  house  in  which  we  were 
then  lodging,  and  therefore  a  comparative  stran- 
ger to  the  invalid)  immediately  jumped  off  a 
chair,  and  silently  but  firmly  turned  it  back, 
as  if  to  say,  'You  must  not  disturb  her.'  He 
also  turned  back  in  the  same  manner  our  own 
large  dog." 

"Many  years  ago  my  mother  had  a  cat  and 
,  dog ;  and  when  the  cat  had  kittens,  the  dog, 
a  terrier,  would  take  charge  of  them  for  an  hour 
at  a  time,  and  no  one  dared  touch  them.  Al- 
though at  other  times  he  was  gentle,  he  then 
snarled  at  all  comers.  Directly  the  mother  re- 
appeared, 'Fly'  walked  off  and  resigned  his 
charge. " 

The  four  following  anecdotes  all  relate  to  sym- 
pathy between  cats  and  dogs,  and  have  been 
sent  by  different  correspondents  : 

"One  day  a  large  black  cat  entered  the  gar- 
den in  a  most  deplorable  condition,  her  tail 
nearly  cut  in  two  by  a  tin  kettle  which  had 
been  tied  to  it.  The  kettle  was  taken  off,  and 


the  poor  creature  brought  into  the  house  and 
fed.  Our  little  dog  *  Trotty '  was  greatly  de- 
lighted to  have  another  friend;  but  'Blackie,' 
as  we  called  the  cat,  would  not  allow  him  to 
go  near  her,  scratching  and  spitting  if  he  ap- 
proached. All  the  time  her  tail  seemed  very 
painful,  but  at  the  end  of  three  or  four  days 
Trotty  somehow  managed  to  bite  off  the  end  of 
it.  This  eased  the  poor  creature's  pains,  and 
from  that  time  they  were  loving  friends." 

Trotty's  reasoning  was  as  correct  in  this  case 
as  if  he  had  been  the  subject  of  transmigration, 
and  had  formerly  inhabited  the  body  of  a  hospital 
surgeon. 

"When  our  little  dog  Trotty  was  quite  young, 
we  had  a  kitten,  '  Mittie'  by  name.  She  was  a 
gentle,  loving  creature,  who  evidently  disliked  be- 
ing pulled  about  and  teased  by  Trotty,  but  only 
resented  it  in  the  most  gentle  way.  The  result 
of  this  teasing  was  that  poor  little  Mittie  did  not 
grow,  and  at  ten  months  old  she  was  a  dwarf. 

"  She  was  then  accidentally  scalded,  and  so 
badly  that  for  some  weeks  she  lay  on  a  pillow, 
and  had  her  sores  regularly  dressed  with  oil. 
All  this  while  Trotty  was  apparently  troubled, 
and  when  the  sores  were  partially  healed  he 
gently  licked  them,  and  so  aided  in  her  recovery. 
From  that  time  he  never  teased  her,  and  they 
lived  together  for  a  year,  Mittie  growing  into 
a  fine  cat. 

"At  the  end  of  this  time  I  fancied  that  Trotty 
was  again  at  his  tricks,  but  on  closely  watching 
them  I  found  that  Mittie  held  up  her  head  in 
order  that  Trotty  might  lick  her  neck,  on  which 
Ave  found  a  small  lump.  This  went  on  for  some 
time,  Mittie  touching  Trotty  with  her  paw  when 
she  wished  to  be  licked,  and  again  when  she 
wished  him  to  desist.  The  lump  proved  malig- 
nant, and  dear  little  Mittie  died.  Trotty  was 
restless  for  weeks,  and  would  not  eat  as  usual." 

* '  There  was  a  ferocious  bull-dog  kept  as  a  guard- 
ian of  the  premises.  He  was  so  fierce  that  on 
one  occasion  he  tried  to  bite  his  mistress  because 
she  ventured  too  near  his  kennel.  Once,  how- 
ever, he  showed  that  he  was  not  deficient  in 
kindly  feelings,  and  that  they  might  have  been 
developed  by  proper  management. 

"  One  day  a  little  kitten  got  out  of  a  window 
three  stones  high,  and  fell  on  the  stone  paving 
of  the  yard  near  the  dog's  kennel.  It  was  so 
hurt  and  crushed  that  even  its  mother  would 
not  go  near  it.  The  dog,  however,  picked  it  up 
carefully,  took  it  into  his  kennel,  licked  it  clean, 
and  nursed  it  carefully  till  the  poor  little  thing 
died." 

"  'Band}','  our  turnspit  dog,  was  an  inmate 


108 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


of  the  house  before  Miss  '  Chinchilla '  Puss  came 
to  reside  in  it  ten  months  ago.  She  was  very  wild 
and  frightened  when  she  came,  dogs  being  her 
natural  abhorrence  ;  but  by  constant  association 
at  the  dinner- table,  round  the  fireplace,  and 
even  in  the  ladies'  rooms,  they  became  good 
friends  ;  and  their  love  was  cemented  on  the 
occasion  of  poor  Bandy  having  had  a  fit  and 
being  unable  to  move  for  some  hours.  Miss 
Chinchilla  came  frequently  to  inquire  for  him, 
and  greeted  him  with  a  kiss  —  literally  they 
touched  lips  and  noses. 

"  Time  passed  on,  and  Chinchilla  arrived  at 
the  dignified  state  of  married  life,  and  a  month 
ago  she  had  her  first  kitten.  On  the  occasion, 
Bandy's  anxious  solicitations  were  constant  and 
gentle,  nor  could  his  curiosity  be  satisfied  on 
hearing  ihe  kitten's  wee  voice  till  he  had  seen 
and  smelt  Kitty.  The  sight  of  such  a  warm 
small  lump  of  life  excited  an  interest  which 
was  far  greater  than  curiosity,  and  whenever 
Chinchilla  left  her  kitten  for  any  time,  he  took 
upon  himself  the  office  of  guardian  and  nurse, 
for  he  licked  and  watched  it  as  if  it  had  been 
one  of  his  own  offspring.  The  other  evening, 
while  the  mother  was  away,  he  even  got  into 
the  cat's  basket,  and  curled  himself  up  in  it,  as 
she  does,  while  the  kitten  lay  upon  him  and  un- 
der his  paw  exactly  as  it  does  with  its  mother. 
Now  at  a  month  old  Kitty  goes  up  to  him  and 
*  shows  fight '  (as  children  say  when  they  want 
to  have  a  stand-up  game),  while  the  mother  looks 
on,  waiting  to  share  in  the  fun. 

"I  am  hoping  to  see,  when  Kitty  grows  up, 
that  she  will  have  extinguished  the  natural  an- 
tipathy of  her  race  to  the  dog  tribe ;  if  so,  I  think 
it  will  be  a  beautiful  proof  of  cultivation  and 
domestication  obliterating  the  prejudices  of  in- 
stinct and  hereditary  habits.  Since  it  is  the 
affection  and  instinct  that  form  the  life  of  all 
existences,  I  believe  and  hope  we  are  cultivating 
the  immortal  principle  in  our  domestic  animals 
by  subduing  the  more  animal  nature,  and  educat- 
ing their  affections  and  intelligences,  and  so  de- 
veloping a  higher  race  of  dogs  and  cats,  or  horses, 
or  any  other  pet. 

"  I  should  like  to  know  if  you  think  that  in 
the  next  stage  of  existence  our  animals  will 
know  us  individually  as  they  do  now  in  a  meas- 
ure by  smell  and  scent  and  voice.  I  am  anx- 
ious to  see  your  work  on  the  proofs  of  immor- 
tality in  animals.  I  do  so  hope  that,  when  I 
pass  beyond  the  veil,  I  shall  know  and  be  recog- 
nized by  a  dear  old  pet  dog,  'Beppo,'  a  most 
devoted  animal,  who  lived  and  died  with  us." 

A  gentleman  living  in  Edinburgh  has  just 
sent  me  this  remarkable  anecdote  of  sympathy 


in  a  dog,  showing  how  wide  .can  be  a  dog's 
sympathies,  and  how  cleverly  he  can  carry  them 
into  effect : 

"I  once  gave  a  spaniel,  called  'Jack,'  to  a 
farmer  friend  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  city. 
Jack's  kennel  was  placed  in  the  farm-yard,  where 
the  poultry  were  daily  fed.  Among  them  hap- 
pened to  be  a  poor,  unfortunate,  unpopular  cock, 
which  was  not  allowed  to  have  a  share  of  what 
was  going,  but  was  punished  severely  whenever 
he  made  an  attempt  to  get  any  food. 

"Jack  somehow  observed  this,  and,  feeling 
sympathy  for  the  poor  bird,  was  seen  daily  to 
leave  some  of  his  food,  to  carry  the  'bicker' 
which  contained  it  into  his  kennel,  and  wait 
there  until  all  the  poultry  were  gone.  He  would 
then  take  his  bicker  outside,  put  it  down  where 
the  cock  could  get  it,  and  stand  on  watch  all 
the  time  in  order  to  protect  him.  Sometimes 
he  would  leave  the  bicker  inside  the  kennel,  and, 
if  the  bird  were  near  at  hand,  he  would  go 
round  about  him  until  he  got  him  into  the  ken- 
nel, so  that  he  might  take  his  food  without  being 
disturbed. 

"I  regret  to  say  that  Jack  is  now  dead;  but  he 
was  a  dog  of  more  than  ordinary  canine  parts 
for  he  exhibited  a  sagacity  and  sympathy  toward 
that  sadly  tormented  bird  which  showed  that  he 
was  an  animal  of  a  rare  stamp,  and  far  above 
his  fellows." 

I  hope  that  the  reader  will  appreciate  the 
character  of  this  dog  as  it  deserves,  and  see 
how  he  displayed  virtues  of  which  any  human 
being  might  be  proud.  There  is  compassion 
for  sufferings  unjustly  inflicted  upon  a  fellow- 
being,  and  a  determination  to  redress  them. 
Then  there  is  self-denial  in  depriving  himself 
of  his  food,  generosity  in  giving  it  away,  and 
high  reasoning  power  as  exemplified  by  the  va- 
rious means  employed  in  managing  that  the  poor 
persecuted  bird  should  have  its  food  in  peace, 
undisturbed  by  its  heartless  fellows. 

The  end  of  this  strange  friendship  was  verv 
remarkable. 

The  ill-usage  of  the  other  birds  still  continued, 
and  at  last  the  cock  was  accustomed  regularly 
to  take  refuge  in  the  dog's  kennel.  Probably 
from  the  perpetual  bullying  which  he  endured, 
he  fell  ill,  and  one  morning  was  found  dead  in 
the  kennel,  lying  closely  pressed  to  his  only 
friend. 

Giving  food,  indeed,  seems  to  be  a  favorite 
way  by  which  animals  of  different  species  ex- 
press their  sympathies  with  each  other.  The 
following  little  history  is  given  in  the  Zoologist, 
page  9G49  : 


SYMPATHY. 


109 


"Last  year,  when  the  troops  left  this  station 
to  proceed  to  the  frontier  war,  a  goat  belonging 
to  an  officer  had  two  young  kids  the  very  morn- 
ing the  force  marched.  The  cruel  native  serv- 
ants, who  have  less  feeling  than  any  animal, 
even  a  tiger,  took  with  them  the  poor  mother 
and  left  the  two  kids  behind,  because  to  carry 
them  would  have  entailed  a  little  trouble  —  a 
thing  most  devoutly  abhorred  by  this  class  of 
menials. 

"  The  little  kids  made  a  terrible  bleating  noise 
at  being  left  all  alone ;  and  a  pariah  dog,  who 
was  employed  as  a  wet-nurse  in  the  opposite 
compound  for  two  English  puppies,  came  over 
the  road  and  took  the  helpless  little  kids  in  her 
mouth,  and  conveyed  them  to  the  box  where 
her  two  puppies  were.  After  this  she  regularly 
suckled  them,  and  brought  them  up  with  the 
other  two  of  her  adopted  family.  It  was  a  curi- 
ous sight,  the  old  lady  suckling  two  puppies  and 
two  kids.  She  lay  down  to  the  former,  but  had 
to  stand  up  for  the  latter,  for  they  used  to  run  at 
her  in  the  usual  vehement  way  lambs  and  kids 
do  at  their  mothers,  which  often  gave  the  dog 
great  pain ;  but  notwithstanding  this  she  was 
never  known  to  bite  at  them. 

"  These  two  kids  grew  up  and  followed  the 
dog  about,  along  with  the  puppies,  all  day,  un- 
til the  kids  became  as  big  as  the  old  dog  her- 
self; she  nursed  them  for  about  three  months, 
when  she  had  a  family  of  her  own,  and  left  off 
taking  any  notice  of  them  further  than  by  a 
good-humored  wag  of  the  tail  or  an  occasional 
lick  of  their  faces.  These  kids  grew  up  to  be 
big  goats,  and  continued  playing  with  the  dogs, 
their  foster  brother  and  sister.  The  old  dog 
had  been  in  the  first  place  deprived  of  her  own 
offspring,  and  the  two  puppies  had  been  brought 
to  her  to  bring  up.  Perhaps  having  lost  her 
own  family  made  her  take  compassion  on  the 
kids,  thus  showing  that  '  a  kindred  feeling  makes 
us  wondrous  kind '  does  not  apply  to  the  human 
race  only." 

A  curious  instance  of  sympathy  is  related  by 
Lady  E. : 

"  Rosy's  daughter  was  a  curious  tortoise-shell, 
with  four  white  paws,  which  were  always  kept 
particularly  clean. 

"When  she  was  nearly  twelve  months  old 
I  went  into  the  room  to  breakfast,  and  perceived 
both  Rosy  and  Tiney  outside  the  window,  rest- 
ing their  front  paws  on  the  window-frame,  and 
carrying  a  dead  kitten  in  their  mouths,  Rosy 
holding  the  kitten  of  a  few  hours  old  by  the 
back  of  the  neck,  cat-fashion,  and  Tiney  support- 
ing the  hind  legs.  Both  mother  and  daughter 


were  looking  very  solemn,  as  though  soliciting 
sympathy  for  the  death  of  Tiney's  first-born 
child. 

' '  Rosy  has  had  a  great  many  kittens  since 
then,  but  Tiney  never  had  another,  though  she 
has  been  most  anxious  and  attentive  to  her  little 
brother  and  sister  kittens  ;  and  whenever  Rosy 
left  them  longer  than  Tiney  considered  prudent, 
she  would  call  her  and  drive  her  to  her  baby 
kittens,  giving  her  an  unmistakable  box  on  the 
ear  and  a  scolding  for  her  neglect  of  her  young 
ones. 

' '  When  they  grew  too  large  and  heavy  for 
Rosy  to  carry  alone,  the  pair  always  bore  the 
burden  between  them,  Rosy  taking  them  by  the 
neck,  and  Tiney  the  hind  legs,  as  in  the  first 
instance.  In  this  way  they  frequently  mounted 
the  stairs,  and  it  was  extraordinary  to  see  how 
well  they  managed  together. 

"Poor  Tiney,  who  was  a  wonderful  cat,  and 
did  most  clever  things,  was  lost  while  I  was  away 
from  home  for  some  months.  Rosy  has  traveled 
about  with  me,  and  sits  as  quietly  on  my  knee  as 
a  child  would  do.  She  likes  to  look  out  of  the 
carriage  window,  and  when  any  thing  passing 
takes  her  fancy  she  puts  her  paw  on  my  chest, 
and  makes  a  pretty  little  noise,  as  though  asking 
if  I  had  seen  it  also." 

There  are  many  examples  known  of  birds 
feeling  sympathy  w-ith  the  lost  or  deserted  young 
of  other  species,  and  taking  upon  themselves  the 
task  of  feeding  the  starving  children.  The  fol- 
lowing case  is  really  a  remarkable  one,  for  it  is 
scarcely  possible  for  two  birds  to  be  more  unlike 
in  their  manners  than  the  starling  and  the  red- 
breast, the  former  being  essentially  a  social  bird, 
and  the  latter  as  essentially  a  solitary  one,  isolat- 
ing himself  with  the  greatest  care,  and  always 
appropriating  to  himself  some  district  which  he 
is  pleased  to  consider  as  his  own  property,  and 
in  which  he  will  not  allow  another  redbreast  to 
show  himself.  Indeed,  he  does  not  like  a  bird 
of  any  kind  to  intrude  upon  his  premises,  and 
whenever  they  show  themselves  they  must  be 
very  strong  birds  indeed  not  to  be  attacked  by 
this  jealous  defender  of  his  rights.  The  follow- 
ing little  history  is  taken  from  Hardwicke's  Sci- 
ence Gossip  for  September,  1871  : 

"A  little  redbreast  has  come  to  our  door  all 
through  the  winter  for  his  meals,  and  a  most 
friendly,  welcome  guest  he  has  been.  One  spring 
morning  we  saw  robin  do  a  deed  of  chanty  that 
more  than  ever  endeared  the  little  bird  to  our 
hearts.  It  had  been  a  bitterly  cold  night,  and 
on  our  servant  going  down-stairs  to  fetch  some 
coal  to  light  the  fires,  she  found  a  poor  little 


110 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


starling  shivering  and  frightened  in  the  cellar. 
She  called  me  to  see  the  bird  :  it  had  only  just 
left  the  nest,  and  it  was  so  weak  that  it  could 
not  fly.  I  tried  to  coax  it  to  eat,  took  it  near 
the  fire,  ottered  it  bread-crumhs,  seeds,  water  ; 
but  no — the  starling  would  not  be  tempted. 

"Breakfast-time  came,  and  with  it  the  little 
robin.  We  thought  that  if  we  put  the  wee 
birdie  out  of  doors  its  mother  might  come  to 
look  for  her  lost  child  ;  then  came  the  fear  of 
robin — he  was  so  very  pugnacious.  Well,  we 
risked  it,  keeping  a  very  strict  watch  over  the 
starling's  safety.  Robin  eyed  it  for  a  moment, 
and  flew  away ;  still  the  little  baby  bird  stood 
on  one  leg  shivering,  and  no  mother  arrived. 
The  moments  seemed  hours.  Presently  robin 
came  flying  back,  and  with  something  in  his 
beak,  too.  Hop,  hop,  he  came  to  where  the  wee 
baby  starling  was  shivering,  and  popped  a  worm 
in  its  beak,  which  it  opened,  just  as  if  robin  had 
said, '  Open  your  mouth — here  is  some  breakfast ; ' 
and  away  he  flew,  and  again  returned  with  some 
food  to  the  young  bird,  and  then  they  both  flew 
away.  We  never  saw  the  starling  again,  but 
good  Rttle  robin's  deed  made  him  more  loved 
than  ever  in  the  house. " 

I  am  rather  glad  to  have  the  opportunity  of 
making  known  these  examples  of  sympathy  be- 
tween animals,  because  I  have  received  com- 
munications from  persons  who  really  appreciate 
the  moral  capacities  of  the  lower  animals,  but 
who  can  not  bring  'themselves  to  believe  that 
they  feel  any  sympathy  with  each  other,  though 
they  do  so  for  man. 

We  now  pass  to  another  branch  of  the  sub- 
ject, namely,  the  capacity  of  the  lower  animals 
to  sympathize  with  human  beings  in  distress. 
The  following  touching  narrative  is  from  the  pen 
of  a  lady  : 

' '  Some  years  ago  we  possessed  a  large  watch- 
dog, a  mastiff,  who,  when  he  became  old,  was 
allowed  the  free  range  of  the  garden. 

"  We  also  had  a  little  Skye  terrier,  whom  he 
took  into  his  especial  charge,  walking  with  her, 
and  apparently  showing  her  the  various  walks, 
flower-beds,  etc.  She  had,  unfortunately,  one 
great  fault,  i.  e. ,  chasing  the  cat,  who  was  also 
a  pet.  On  one  occasion  she  was  taken  in  the 
act,  and  her  master  was  administering  a  little 
castigation ;  whereupon  the  mastiffcame  up  quiet- 
ly to  his  master,  and  took  his  right  arm  in  his 
mouth,  not  offering  to  bite,  but  asking  him  to 
withhold  the  coming  stroke. 

"  The  successor  to  this  dog  was  a  still  more 
remarkable  animal,  belonging  to  the  St.  Bernard 
breed,  named  'Nelly.'  She  came  to  us  when 


six  weeks  old,  and  died  in  November,  18G2,  la- 
mented not  only  by  the  household  of  which  she 
formed  a  part,  but  by  the  whole  neighborhood. 
Even  strangers  could  not  but  notice  her,  for  her 
face  was  full  of  soul,  nobility,  intelligence,  and 
love. 

' '  She  was  with  us  during  a  season  of  bitter  be- 
reavement. Her  own  altered  looks,  her  quiet 
and  sad  demeanor,  told  how  truly  she  shared  in 
the  prevailing  sorrow.  For  many  weeks  she  nev- 
er entered  the  house  (except  the  kitchen),  but 
would  often  look  wistfully  up  to  the  windows. 
At  length,  when  she  did  venture  into  the  dining- 
room,  she  merely  walked  direct  to  the  well-known 
chair,  and,  finding  it  vacant,  with  saddened  look 
turned  away  and  left  the  room. 

"As  time  rolled  on,  her  visits  to  the  house  were 
renewed,  and  then  it  was  that  her  sympathetic 
qualities  were  so  touchingly  displayed.  She 
seemed  to  realize  the  change  that  had  passed 
over  us.  She  noticed  our  indications  of  sorrow 
when  we  thought  that  she  was  sleeping,  and,  leav- 
ing the  spot  where  she  was  lying,  she  would  offer 
us  her  paw  with  an  expression  of  countenance 
which  made  itself  felt. 

"  On  more  than  one  occasion  she  rose  sponta- 
neously from  the  warm  rug,  and,  with  a  look 
which  conveyed  as  impressively  as  words  could 
do  the  sympathy  which  she  felt,  she  rested  her 
beautiful  flaxen  breast  on  the  lap  of  the  lonely 
one,  clasped  her  in  her  arms,  and  licked  the  tear- 
bedewed  cheeks." 

The  last  scene  of  Nelly's  life  was  very  remark- 
able, as  showing  the  complete  understanding  and 
sympathy  which  can  exist  between  man  and  the 
lower  animals.  She  entertained  the  profoundest 
affection  for  the  old  gardener,  affection  which 
was  perfectly  reciprocated. 

"  Her  greatest  trials  were  when  George's  duties 
called  him  away  from  her.  At  such  times  she 
used  to  station  herself  at  the  gate,  eagerly  lis- 
tening for  the  coming  footstep,  with  now  and 
then  a  piteous  howl.  And  when  he  did  appear, 
what  a  rush  of  delight !  what  greetings !  what 
fondlings ! 

"  But  I  must  hasten  to  the  last  sad  scene.  Our 
loving  and  much-loved  Nelly  died  three  days 
after  giving  birth  to  a  litter  of  puppies.  The 
best  skill  that  was  to  be  had  was  obtained,  and 
her  faithful  George  watched  her  by  night  and  by 
day.  With  all  a  mother's  forgetfulness  of  self, 
she  fulfilled  her  maternal  duties  until  the  last  day, 
when  she  evidently  felt  that  she  had  nothing  and 
could  do  nothing  for  them.  She  feebly  rose  from 
her  couch,  and  gave  her  children  into  George's 
charge,  with  a  look  that  said  as  plainly  as  human 
words  cculd  speak, '  Care  for  these  helpless  ones 


FRIENDSHIP. 


Ill 


as  you  have  cared  for  me.'  What  could  a  hu- 
man mother  do  more?  She  then  lay  on  the 
couch,  from  which  her  children  had  already  been 
removed,  stretched  herself  out,  and,  with  her 
paws  in  the  hand  of  her  faithful  friend,  quietly 
breathed  out  her  life. 

"Can  it  be  that  virtues  such  as  I  have  at- 
tempted to  portray  have  found  no  fitting  sphere 
for  their  exercise,  but  that,  like  the  poor  per- 
ished body,  they  have  gone  to  destruction  ?  Nay, 
even  the  body  is  not  destroyed ;  it  is  only  dis- 
solved into  other  elements.  Are  we,  then,  to 
think  that  the  all-wise  Creator  shows  less  respect 
for  the  immaterial  than  for  the  material ;  that 
while  the  inferior  continues  to  exist,  although 
in  altered  form,  the  superior  is  consigned  to  an- 
nihilation ?  Reason  and  analogy  oppose  it ;  rev- 
elation does  not  support  it." 

I  have  witnessed  an  example  of  sympathy  with 
human  sufferings  shown  by  a  cat.  Her  name 
was  "  Prettina,"  and  she  was  grandmother  of 
my  own  remarkable  animal,  who,  although  of  a 
different  sex,  received  the  abbreviated  name  of 
"  Pret,"  by  way  of  honoring  the  memory  of  his 
beautiful  grandmother.  One  day,  while  I  was 
paying  a  visit,  the  cat's  mistress  was  seized  with 
a  distressing  cough,  which  used  to  last  for  a  con- 
siderable time,  and  left  her  quite  prostrate  with 
the  fatigue.  As  soon  as  the  cough  began  the  cat  be- 
came uneasy,  and  at  last  jumped  upon  the  couch 
on  which  her  mistress  was  lying,  uttered  a  series 
of  sounds  which  evidently  expressed  pity,  and 
laid  her  paw  on  the  sufferer's  lips. 

This,  I  heard,  was  her  invariable  practice 
whenever  a  fit  of  coughing  was  prolonged  more 
than  usual. 

As  for  sympathy  displayed  by  dogs,  there  is  no 
need  for  me  to  give  examples.  I  suppose  that 
no  human  being  was  ever  free  from  troubles  of 
some  kind,  and  I  am  equally  sure  that  no  one 
who  had  a  companionable  dog  felt  that  he  was 
without  sympathy.  Doggie  knows  perfectly  well 
when  his  master  is  suffering  pain  or  sorrow,  and 
his  nose  pushed  into  his  master's  hand,  or  laid 
lovingly  on  his  knee,  is  a  sign  of  sympathy  which 
is  worth  having,  though  it  only  exists  in  the  heart 
of  a  dog.  From  that  moment  a  bond  has  been 
established  between  the  soul  of  the  man  and  that 
of  the  dog,  and  I  can  not  believe  that  the  bond 
can  ever  be  severed  by  the  death  of  the  material 
body,  whether  of  the  man  or  of  the  animal. 

I  know  a  case  where  a  dog  was  always  the 
consoler.  It  belonged  to  a  large  family,  and,  as 
will  be  the  case  in  families,  one  of  the  children 
occasionally  got  into  disgrace,  and  was  punished. 
Whenever  this  happened,  "Flo"  was  sure  to 


find  out  the  sorrowing  child,  and,  by  licking  its 
face  and  offering  many  caresses,  would  show  her 
sympathy.  One  of  the  children  was  peculiarly 
sensitive,  and,  as  if  conscious  that  she  specially 
needed  sympathy,  Flo  would  be  more  demonstra- 
tive toward  her  than  toward  the  others. 


FRIENDSHIP. 

That  friendship,  which  is  another  bratach  of 
love,  exists  among  animals  is  a  very  well-known 
fact,  exhibiting  itself  most  frequently  among  do- 
mesticated animals.  Horses,  for  example,  which 
have  been  accustomed  to  draw  the  same  carriage 
are  usually  sure  to  be  great  friends,  and  if  one 
be  exchanged  the  other  is  quite  wretched  for 
want  of  his  companion,  and  seems  unable  to  put 
any  spirit  into  his  work. 

Dogs,  too,  are  very  apt  to  strike  up  friendship 
with  each  other,  one  or  two  examples  of  which  I 
have  already  mentioned  under  other  headings. 
One  of  my  friends  has  a  little  terrier  called 
"Pincher,"  who  had  in  some  way  managed  to 
make  friends  with  a  great  sheep-dog.  This  was 
an  unpleasant  animal,  of  a  quarrelsome  disposi- 
tion, and  was  always  fighting  some  other  dog.  On 
these  occasions  Pincher  always  used  to  run  to 
the  assistance  of  his  friend,  and  give  him  mate- 
rial help  by  attacking  his  adversary  in  the  rear, 
snapping  and  barking,  and  biting  his  heels.  This 
was  very  good  of  Pincher,  but  it  was  scarcely  fair 
play  to  the  other  dog. 

A  very  remarkable  and  affecting  instance  of 
friendship  in  a  cat  has  been  communicated  to 
me  by  a  lady : 

"We  had  two  kittens  given  us,  fine,  high-spir- 
ited .animals,  called  '  Dick  '  and  '  Kate.'  They 
lived  together  happily  for  some  time ;  but  Kate 
was  taken  with  fits,  and,  by  the  advice  of  the 
doctor,  she  was  poisoned  with  prussic  acid.  She 
was  buried  far  away  from  the  house,  because 
Dick  was  so  fond  of  her  that  we  feared  he  would 
find  her  grave. 

"  He  did  not  see  Kate  removed,  and  of  course 
had  no  knowledge  of  his  loss  except  by  his  own 
instinct.  But  he  hunted  every  where  for  her,  call- 
ed her  in  his  way,  and  after  the  first  day  refused 
to  eat.  He  went  about  the  house  in  the  most 
touching  way,  just  like  a  person  in  grief,  and  at 
the  end  of  three  days  he  died." 

The  love  which  this  affectionate  creature  bore 
to  his  companion  was  stronger  than  life,  and  I 
can  not  believe  but  that  it  survived  death,  and 
that  the  two  loving  creatures  were  again  united 
in  their  own  sphere  of  existence. 


112 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


Among  the  animals,  friendship  is  not  confined 
to  one  species,  but  sometimes  exhibits  itself  in 
animals  which  might  be  supposed  to  be  peculiar- 
ly incongruous  in  their  nature.  Here,  for  exam- 
ple, is  a  case  of  friendship  between  a  cat  and  a 
dog  : 

"A  strong  case  of  friendliness  between  cat  and 
dog  is  to  be  witnessed  in  this  house  (near  Guild- 
ford)  at  the  present  time.  Two  kittens,  not  re- 
lated to  each  other,  and  about  six  weeks  old, 
have  been  introduced  into  the  house,  at  two  dif- 
ferent times,  within  the  last  seven  or  eight  weeks. 
Instead  of  taking  alarm  at  the  sight  of  our  big 
dog,  they  lick  his  face,  bite  his  ears,  and  play 
with  his  tail ;  I  believe  they  think  that  he  wags 
it  on  purpose,  and  I  am  not  sure  but  they  are 
right ;  finally,  when  they  are  tired,  they  go  to 
sleep  beside  him,  so  that  it  is  not  uncommon  to 
find  him  with  one  kitten  between  his  paws  and 
the  other  leaning  up  against  him  ;  and  if  he  walks 
about  the  house,  one  or  both  of  the  kittens  will 
trot  after  him.  Neither  of  these  little  creatures 
had  seen  a  large  dog  until  they  came  to  us. " 

That  cows  and  sheep  live,  as  a  rule,  on  good 
terms  in  the  same  pasture  is  a  familiar  fact, 
though  sometimes  the  former  are  a  little  apt  to 
bully  the  latter.  I  have,  however,  learned  that  a 
very  strong  affection  can  exist  between  animals 
so  different,  and  that  when  accustomed  to  each 
other's  society  neither  could  be  happy  without 
the  other. 

' '  Some  years  ago  we  had  a  lamb  whose  mother 
died  soon  after  its  birth.  It  was  brought  up  by 
hand  on  cow's  milk,  and,  for  the  convenience  of 
the  feeder,  was  kept  in  the  cow-house.  It  ac- 
companied the  cows  to  and  from  the  field,  and 
remained  their  companion  for  two  or  three 
years. 

* '  The  animal  was  quite  a  pet  of  the  man  who 
had  charge  of  the  cows,  and  he  kept  it  with 
them  until  ordered  by  his  master  to  place  it 
with  the  sheep.  After  much  demur,  this  was 
done ;  but  for  some  days  the  man  complained 
that  '  Donald '  was  miserable,  that  he  would  not 
associate  with  the  other  sheep,  and  that  they 
beat  him.  The  master  gave  little  heed  to  the 
statement,  but  at  last  gave  permission  for  Donald 
to  be  restored  to  his  old  associates,  and  invited 
us  to  see  the  meeting. 

"The  cows  all  rushed  to  meet  him,  and  he 
ran  up  to  each  in  turn  ;  but  this  was  only  a  be- 
ginning. After  a  few  minutes  a  cow  went  to 
Donald  and  began  licking  him  from  head  to 
tail,  and  continued  to  do  so  until  she  had  passed 
her  tongue  over  every  part  of  his  body.  He  was 


then  passed  over  to  another,  who  did  the  same 
thing,  until  all  the  six  cows  had  shown  their 
affection. " 

That  Donald  should  refuse  to  associate  with 
the  other  sheep  is  not  a  matter  of  wonder,  as 
he  had  been  accustomed  from  his  birth  to  the 
society  of  cows ;  but  that  the  others  should  bully 
him  is  not  so  easily  explained,  except  on  the 
supposition  that  from  long  familiarity  with  cows 
he  had  contracted  habits  that  were  unsheeplike, 
and  gave  him  a  foreign  air. 

Horses  are  apt  to  contract  friendship  with 
different  animals.  The  goat  and  the  horse  are 
frequent  friends,  and  it  often  happens  -that  a 
peculiarly  vicious  horse  will  allow  a  goat  to  take 
any  liberties  with  him  without  dreaming  of  re- 
senting them.  The  stable  cat,  too,  is  quite 
an  institution  in  many  places,  the  cat's  usual 
place  of  repose  being  the  back  of  the  horse, 
and  the  horse  being  uneasy  if  left  for  any  length 
of  time  without  the  society  of  his  usual  com- 
panion. 

I  know  of  one  case  where  the  friendship  was 
exhibited  in  a  very  curious  manner.  A  little 
kitten  strayed,  when  very  young,  into  the  house 
of  one  of  my  friends,  and  was  adopted  by  a 
cat  who  brought  it  up  together  Avith  her  own 
young.  This  kitten  became  a  great  frequenter 
of  the  stables,  and  made  two  rather  odd  friends, 
namely,  a  pony  and  a  lame  bantam.  It  was  a 
curious  sight  to  see  the  kitten  and  the  bantam, 
curled  up  asleep  on  the  pony's  broad  back, 
where  they  would  spend  hours  without  being 
disturbed. 

The  horse  and  the  goose  have  been  known 
to  be  excellent  friends  for  a  long  time,  the  bird 
rubbing  his  head,  in  the  fondest  manner,  against 
that  of  the  horse.  I  have  mentioned,  under 
another  heading,  the  odd  friendship  that  was 
struck  up  between  a  kitten  and  a  brood  of 
ducklings,  the  kitten  always  going  to  sleep  on 
the  ducks  when  they  had  settled  down  for  the 
night. 

Another  odd  instance  of  friendship  occurred 
in  the  house  of  one  of  my  friends. 

He  had  a  fine  Newfoundland  dog  which  took 
a  fancy  to  a  brood  of  young  ducklings,  and  con- 
stituted himself  their  protector.  They  were  quite 
willing  to  accept  him  in  this  capacity,  and  fol- 
lowed him  about  just  as  if  he  had  been  their 
mother.  It  was  a  specially  interesting  sight- to 
watch  the  dog  and  the  ducklings  taking  their 
siesta.  The  dog  used  to  lie  on  his  side,  and 
the  ducklings  would  nestle  all  about  him. 

There  was  one  duckling  in  particular  which 
invariably  scrambled  upon  the  dog's  head,  and 


FRIENDSHIP. 


113 


sat  on  the  eye  which  was  uppermost,  both  par- 
ties appearing  to  be  equally  satisfied  with  this 
remarkable  arrangement,  though  the  dog  must 
have  been  put  to  no  small  inconvenience  by  the 
pressure  on  his  eye. 

It  is  really  curious  to  notice  the  apparently 
incongruous  friendships  which  are  often  found 
among  animals. 

I  knew  of  a  monkey  who  was  accustomed  to 
H 


live  in  a  hen-house.  He  formed  a  friendship 
with  one  of  the  inmates,  a  hen  which  was  in 
bad  health,  and  the  two  were  accustomed  to 
sleep  on  the  same  perch,  the  monkey  with  his 
head  nestled  under  the  hen's  wing. 

I  also  know  of  two  Java  sparrows  which  al- 
ways pass  the  night  under  the  wings  of  two 
turtle-doves,  which  treat  them  like  their  own 
offspring. 


114 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

LOVE    OF    MASTER. 

Attachment  of  Animals  to  Man.— Innate  Yearning  for  Human  Society.— "  Jimmie,"  the  Squirrel.— A  Tame 
Sparrow  and  its  Ways. — "  Turey,"  the  Rock-pigeon. — Sad  End  of  a  Pet. — Divided  Allegiance. — The  Dead 
Shepherd  and  his  Dog.— Animals  Dying  for  Love  of  Man.— "Phloss"and  his  Mistress.— My  Dog  "Rory." 
—My  Children's  Canary — Mr.  Webber's  Account  of  the  Bullfinch.— The  Story  of  "  Grayfriars'  Bobb}-."— 
A  Well-deserved  Monument.— Power  Possessed  by  Animals  of  Returning  to  their  Masters.— A  Collier  Dog 
Finding  his  Way  from  Calcutta  to  Scotland.— "Zeno's"  Singular  Journey.— A  Dog  and  his  Complicated 
Journey  from  Manchester  to  Holywell. — Cats  and  their  Supposed  Attachment  to  Localities. — My  Cat 
"Pret"  and  his  Travels.— A  Cat  Crossing  Scotland  alone.— Suggested  Source  of  the  Power.— A  Stray 
Persian  Cat.— The  Dog  "Joey  "and  his  Mistress's  Letter.— The  Indian  Fakirs  and  their  Tame  Tigers.— 
"Rob,"  the  Bloodhound,  and  the  Child.— The  Boy  and  the  Savage  Horse.— Two  Pet  Sheep.— Goose  and 
"Goosey."— "Toby,"  the  Gander — Summary  of  the  Subject. 


UNDER  this  heading  I  place  that  feeling  which 
induces  animals  to  attach  themselves  to  human 
beings,  the  feeling  being  the  same  whether  the 
object  of  it  be  technically  a  master  or  not. 

I  have  already  referred  to  the  intense  yearning 
for  human  society  which  is  felt  by  many  of  the 
lower  animals,  and  which  is  indeed  but  the  aspi- 
ration of  the  lower  spirit  developed  by  contact 
with  the  higher.  In  those  animals  which  are 
domesticated,  and  therefore  in  perpetual  contact 
with  man  from  birth,  this  feeling  is  no  matter 
of  wonder.  But  that  it  should  be  exhibited  in 
the  non- domesticated  animals  and  birds,  and 
even,  as  we  have  already  seen,  in  insects,  is  a 
fact  which  is  well  worth  our  consideration,  as 
giving  a  clew  to  some  of  the  many  problems  of 
life  which  are  at  present  unsolved. 

The  power  of  attraction  which  is  exercised  by 
the  spirit  of  man  upon  the  spirit  of  the  lower  cre- 
ation is  well  exemplified  by  the  well-known  fact 
that  many  of  the  wild  animals  will  attach  them- 
selves to  human  beings,  and  will  forsake  the  so- 
ciety of  their  own  kind  for  that  of  the  being 
whom  they  feel  to  be  higher  than  themselves. 

One  of  the  wariest  animals  is  the  wild  squir- 
rel, as  any  one  will  say  who  has  tried  to  ap- 
proach one.  He  is  horribly  afraid  of  human  be- 
ings, and  if  a  man,  woman,  or  child  come  to 
windward  of  a  squirrel,  the  little  animal  is  sure 
to  scamper  off  at  his  best  pace,  scuttle  up  a  tree, 
and  hide  himself  behind  some  branch.  Yet,  as 
the  following  anecdote  shows,  the  squirrel,  wild 
as  he  may  be,  is  peculiarly  susceptible  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  human  spirit,  and  for  the  sake  of 
human  society  will  utterly  abandon  that  of  its 


own  kind.  The  little  history  which  is  here  giv- 
en was  sent  to  me  expressly  for  this  work : 

"The  squirrel  was  given  to  me  while  I  was 
an  undergraduate  at  Cambridge,  in  the  summer 
of  1854.  He  was  very  young,  and  could  scarce- 
ly jump  from  the  table.  I  took  him  home  with 
me  in  the  long  vacation,  and  he  soon  became  so 
fond  of  me  that  when  I  went  for  a  walk  I  used 
to  take  him  with  me,  and  he  followed  me  like  a 
dog. 

"Although  he  had  one  of  those  whirlabout 
cages,  it  was  with  difficulty  that  I  could  keep 
him  there,  as  when  awake  he  preferred  to  follow 
his  own  devices,  and,  when  tired,  he  usually  slept 
on  a  soft  cushion  on  the  sofa ;  or,  if  the  doors  were 
left  open,  he  would  find  his  way  into  some  bed- 
room, and  nestle  under  the  pillows. 

"  At  night  he  always  used  to  sleep  with  me, 
though  he  was  rather  troublesome,  as  nothing  es- 
caped his  notice,  and  he  always  tried  every  thing 
with  a  nibble.  He  used  to  hide  things  dreadful- 
ly, and  ladies'  work-boxes  were  perfect  mines  to 
him.  I  am  afraid  he  was  rather  encouraged  in 
this,  as  my  mother  generally  had  a  nut  reserved 
in  the  corner  of  her  box. 

"  In  the  morning,  while  I  was  dressing,  I  used 
to  open  my  window,  when  '  Jimmie '  used  to  get 
out,  climb  down  a  rose-tree  that  was  nailed  to 
the  wall,  and  amuse  himself  by  taking  a  run  be- 
fore breakfast.  Afterward  he  usually  went  out 
again,  and  played  about  the  lawn  and  plantation 
for  three  or  four  hours,  returning  by  the  window, 
and  going  to  sleep  on  his  favorite  cushion. 

"  Once,  when  I  was  staying  from  home,  and 
had  taken  Jimmie  with  me,  I  lost  him  for  two 
nights.  He  had  been  playing  about  in  the  gar- 


LOVE   OF  MASTER. 


115 


den,  and,  being  in  a  strange  place,  had  evident- 
ly lost  his  way.  I  was  very  unhappy  about  him, 
and  had  given  him  up  for  lost,  when  on  the  sec- 
ond day  I  heard  his  feet  pattering  near  the 
door,  and  joyfully  welcomed  him  back.  When 
I  came  over  to  Jersey,  I  brought  my  little  friend 
with  me;  but  in  1858  the  poor  little  fellow 
caught  cold,  became  paralyzed,  and  soon  died, 
to  my  very  great  grief. " 

The  reader  will  observe  that  in  this  case  there 
was  a  deliberate  abandonment  of  freedom  and 
the  company  of  his  own  kindred  for  the  sake  of 
human  society.  There  was  no  coercion.  If 
Jimmie  had  wished  to  escape,  there  was  nothing 
to  prevent  him,  and  nothing  bound  him  to  his 
master  but  an  "  ever-lengthening  chain  "  of  love 
and  aspirations  which  none  but  a  human  being 
could  satisfy. 

Here  is  an  instance  where  a  sparrow,  one  of 
the  most  independent  and  self-reliant  of  birds, 
abandoned  his  own  kind  for  the  sake  of  human 
beings : 

* '  A  lady,  whom  we  know,  tells  rather  a  strange 
story  about  a  sparrow. 

"  Her  brothers  had  rescued  the  bird  from  some 
boys  who  had  been  robbing  the  nest.  They 
brought  it  home,  and  it  was  reared  in  the  house. 
It  was  never  confined  in  a  cage,  but  was  allowed 
to  fly  freely  about  the  house.  As  a  cat  was  kept, 
she  had  to  be  watched  lest  she  should  injure  the 
bird.  ,  j. 

"On  Sundays,  when  the  whole  family  went  to 
church,  and  no  one  was  left  to  keep  an  eye  on 
the  cat,  the  sparrow  was  always  turned  into  the 
garden,  where  he  flew  about  until  the  family  re- 
turned. The  signal  for  his  entry  into  the  house 
was  that  his  mistress  opened  the  dining-room  win- 
dow, and  stood  there  without  her  gloves.  If  she 
wore  her  gloves,  the  bird  refused  to  enter. " 

A  somewhat  similar  instance  is  here  given,  the 
narrator  being  an  artisan  : 

"Forty  years  ago  I  was  in  Scotland,  living 
with  an  uncle  at  an  old  castle  called  Cakemuir. 
There  was  a  part  in  ruins,  tenanted  by  quantities 
of  pigeons,  many  of  which  were  taken  for  pies. 
Among  them  was  an  unfledged  young  one,  and 
I,  then  a  boy,  took  compassion  on  the  solitary 
thing,  and  begged  it  as  a  pet.  I  put  it  in  a  bas- 
ket in  an  empty  room,  and  fed  it  by  hand;  and  it 
grew  apace,  and  formed  an  eVerlasting  friendship 
for  me.  It  was  a  bright  blue  bird,  with  white 
head  and  wings. 

"When  it  was  fledged,  I  gave  it  liberty,  but 
it  would  never  associate  with  its  fellows.  It  fol- 
lowed me  wherever  I  went,  even  for  miles,  tak- 


ing long  flights,  and  returning  to  settle  on  my 
arms,  head,  or  shoulders.  It  was  a  constant  at- 
tendant in  the  breakfast-parlor,  driving  out  the 
dogs  and  cats  by  blows  of  its  wing. 

"  We  removed  to  another  house,  where  it  was 
perfectly  at  home.  There  also  it  was  a  great 
pet  with  my  uncle  and  aunt,  but  it  would  never 
follow  them.  After  a  time  I  was  apprenticed  at 
a  village  a  few  miles  off,  and  used  to  return  on 
Sunday  morning  and  spend  the  day  there.  '  Tu- 
rey '  followed  me  as  usual  on  the  Sundays,  and 
when  I  returned  on  Monday  would  try  to  ac- 
company me.  At  first  I  had  to  drive  it  back  by 
throwing  stones  toward  it ;  but  it  soon  learned 
my  intentions,  and  would  only  go  with  me  as  far 
as  the  road.  On  being  told  to  go  home,  it  would 
fly  around  my  head,  then  make  a  great  round  in 
the  air  and  fly  home. 

"Unfortunately  it  became  troublesome,  as 
most  pets  do,  and  used  to  get  into  the  dairy  and 
disturb  the  milk.  My  aunt  shut  it  up,  but  for- 
got to  give  it  any  water,  and  the  poor  bird  died 
of  thirst.  Many  tears  were  shed,  and  we  were 
obliged  to  let  my  uncle  think  that  I  had  the  bird 
with  me  in  the  village. " 

I  am  acquainted  with  two  jackdaws,  which  be- 
have in  much  the  same  manner.  One  of  them 
entirely  declines  all  intercourse  with  the  jackdaw 
world,  and  attaches  himself  exclusively  to  the  in- 
habitants of  the  house.  He  has  the  full  use  of 
his  wings,  but  generally  employs  them  in  flying 
about  the  house,  and  occasionally  settling  on  the 
heads  of  persons  to  whom  he  chooses  to  take  a 
fancy.  I  have  had  him  on  my  head  many  times, 
and  it  was  sometimes  rather  startling,  when  ab- 
sorbed in  a  book  or  conversation,  to  see  some- 
thing black  dash  before  one's  eyes,  to  hear  a 
loud  squall  of  "Jack!"  in  one's  ears,  and  then 
to  feel  the  grasp  of  sharp  claws  on  the  top  of  the 
head. 

The  other  jackdaw  owns  a  divided  allegiance. 
He  does  not  enter  the  house,  and  freely  consorts 
with  his  fellows.  But  he  is  always  within,  or,  at 
all  events,  in  sight  of  the  garden,  and  is  ready  to 
greet  any  members  of  the  family  who  leave  the 
house.  He  will  generally  accompany  them  in 
their  walks ;  and  if  they  are  accompanied  by 
friends  who  are  not  acquainted  with  his  ways,  he 
is  apt  to  startle  them  by  an  occasional  swoop 
close  to  their  heads,  accompanied  by  a  loud  caw. 

Here  is  a  case  of  divided  companionship  in  a 
rook.  The  anecdote  was  communicated  to  me 
by  a  lady  : 

"  In  the  early  part  of  1861  a  young  rook  was 
brought  to  one  of  my  children.  It  was  wounded 
in  the  wing,  and  unable  to  fly ;  but  every  care 


116 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


was  taken  of  it,  and  it  soon  recovered.  We  gave 
the  bird  its  liberty ;  but  during  the  whole  of  that 
year  it  kept  about  the  garden  and  close  to  the 
house,  always  coming  to  be  fed  when  called. 

"  He  remained  with  us  for  some  years,  when 
he  suddenly  disappeared.  We  feared  that  he 
might  have  been  shot ;  but,  to  our  surprise,  about 
the  month  of,  June  'Jack '  again  made  his  ap- 
pearance, sitting  in  his  accustomed  place  in  a 
tree  opposite  the  window.  From  that  time  he 
has  been  a  constant  attendant,  coming  to  us  when 
we  call  him,  and  following  us  from  place  to  place. 
At  other  times  he  joins  his  companions,  and  flies 
about  with  them,  only  returning  to  us  to  be  fed. " 

The  following  pathetic  little  tale  shows  how 
the  love  of  master  in  a  dog  survived  death.  It 
shows  reasoning  and  self-denial  on  the  part  of 
the  dog,  and  also  aifords  another  example  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  power  of  reason  in  an  ani- 
mal seems  to  break  down  just  where  it  might  be 
expected  to  manifest  itself  most  successfully  : 

"Some  years  ago  a  fearful  snow-storm  hap- 
pened in  the  Isle  of  Skye.  A  shepherd  had  oc- 
casion to  go  to  look  after  his  flock,  attended  by 
a  faithful  dog.  The  storm  increased,  and  the 
poor  shepherd  could  not  accomplish  his  task; 
night  had  set  in,  and  he  was  unable  to  return  to 
his  home.  Struggling  in  vain  through  the  drift 
and  darkness,  he  became  utterly  exhausted,  lay 
down  and  died. 

*'  The  dog,  more  fortunate  than  his  master, 
got  back  to  the  lonely  sheiling ;  and  when  it  was 
seen  that  he  was  alone,  search  was  made,  but  in 
vain.  Hope  was  giving  way  to  despair,  when  it 
was  observed  that  the  dog  daily  took  away  a 
piece  of  bannock,  or  cake,  in  his  mouth,  as  it  was 
thought  to  hide  it  for  some  future  occasion. 
But,  with  that  noble  instinct  with  which  a  wise 
Providence  had  endued  him  (although  in  this  in- 
stance unavailing),  he  set  off  day  by  day  with 
this  supply  to  where  his  master  lay,  and  on  being 
followed  it  was  found  that  he  had  placed  no  few- 
er than  five  pieces  of  bread  on  his  breast.  Alas ! 
the  vital  spark  had  long  since  fled,  but  there  was 
the  striking  token  of  instinct  and  affection,  meet 
subject  for  even  a  Landseer  to  depict. " 

The  intensity  of  the  love  which  the  lower  ani- 
mals can  entertain  toward  man  may  be  estimat- 
ed from  the  fact  that  they  have  been  known  to 
die  for  the  loss  of  those  whom  they  love.  I  give 
three  instances  of  such  potent  grief,  two  being 
exhibited  by  dogs,  and  the  other  by  a  canary 
which  lived  in  my  own  family  for  some  years. 
The  first  anecdote  is  taken  from  the  well-known 
"  Memorials  of  a  Quiet  Life,"  by  Augustus  Hare: 


"  Her  poor  old  dog, '  Phloss,'  pined  away  from 
the  moment  of  his  mistress's  death.  He  pined 
and  vexed  himself  whenever  the  undertakers 
came  to  the  house,  and  on  the  night  before  her 
funeral  laid  himself  down  and  died — died,  as  the 
servant  said,  just  like  his  mistress,  with  one  long 
gasp  of  breath.  Thus  ended  a  life  bound  up  in 
our  recollections  with  '  Julius,'  with  Havelock, 
from  whom  it  derived  its  name,  and  Julius's  dear 
friend,  Tom  Starr,  by  whom  it  was  given." 

Then  there  was  my  dear  dog  "Rory,"  the 
quaintest,  funniest,  and  most  eccentric  dog  that 
I  ever  knew.  A  rough  Irish  terrier,  black  as 
night,  with  a  triangular  patch  of  snowy  white  on 
his  breast,  and  another  on  the  under  side  of  his 
tail  -  tuft ;  thick,  heavy  eyebrows,  with  a  bold 
curve  in  them,  only  letting  the  gleam  of  the  glit- 
tering eyes  sparkle  from  between  their  fringes ; 
black  moustaches  to  match  the  eyebrows,  only 
very  much  longer  and  thicker  ;  and  ears  standing 
nearly  upright  for  half  their  length,  and  then  ab- 
ruptly drooping  as  if  made  of  black  velvet. 

I  call  him  my  dog,  not  because  he  ever  be- 
longed to  me,  but  because  he  was  pleased  to 
adopt  me  as  his  master,  and  totally  to  repudiate 
his  legal  owner,  who,  by  the  way,  very  honorably 
paid  the  tax  for  him. 

Shortly  after  taking  my  degree,  I  accepted  a 
scholastic  offer  which  took  me  into  Wiltshire, 
where  it  was  impossible  to  introduce  Rory.  So, 
with  many  regrets,  I  left  him  to  the  care  of  the 
household,  all  of  whom  were  very  fond  of  him. 

Of  course,  he  was  greatly  troubled  at  my  ab- 
sence, and  was  perpetually  on  the  watch  for  me, 
but  after  some  weeks  he  seemed  to  understand 
the  state  of  things  and  to  be  reconciled  to  his 
lot.  It  so  happened  that  after  I  had  been  away 
for  some  three  months,  I  had  to  attend  to  some 
family  business,  and  visited  home  for  a  few  hours. 
Rory  was  there,  and  gave  me  the  most  curious 
welcome  imaginable. 

Naturally  a  dog  of  the  most  exuberant  spirits, 
exalted  to  the  skies  by  a  kind  word,  and  crawl- 
ing on  the  ground  in  utter  abasement  if  scolded, 
he  might  have  been  expected  to  be  more  than 
usually  demonstrative  when  I  unexpectedly  made 
my  appearance.  But  he  did  nothing  of  the  kind. 
He  licked  my  hand,  and  that  was  all.  But  he 
would  not  lose  sight  of  me.  He  followed  me  si- 
lently about  the  house,  and,  when  I  sat  down, 
lay  on  the  floor,  with*  his  chin  resting  on  my  foot, 
and  his  beautiful  loving  eyes  gazing  steadily  and 
wistfully  at  me  through  their  heavy  fringes.  He 
seemed  to  know  that  it  was  for  the  last  time, 
and  kept  his  steady  gaze  until  I  was  obliged  to 
leave  the  house.  He  made  no  particular  demon- 


LOVE  OF  MASTER. 


117 


stration  when  I  bade  him  farewell ;  but  his  law- 
ful owner  claimed  him,  took  him  away,  and  in  a 
few  weeks  my  poor  Kory  was  dead. 

There  are  several  now  living  who  will  always 
cherish  an  affectionate  regard  for  Kory  and  his 
odd  ways.  No  human  being  could  have  pos- 
sessed a  keener  sense  of  humor  than  had  Kory, 
and  no  one  could  have  been  more  fertile  in  hitting 
upon  plans  for  gratifying  that  sense  of  humor. 
He  would  knock  over  every  fat  lap-dog  that  he 
met,  frighten  their  mistresses  half  out  of  their 
senses,  walk  by  their  sides  on  his  hind  legs  the 
whole  length  of  a  street,  and  altogether  com- 
port himself  like  an  amiable  maniac.  He  chief- 
ly exulted,  however,  in  alarming  college  dons  as 
they  statelily  sailed  along  in  the  full  glories  of 
silken  gown,  cassock,  and  scarf.  Such,  at  least, 
was  the  custom  in  my  time,  now  some  thirty 
years  ago ;  but  I  am  given  to  understand  that 
in  these  degenerate  days  the  undergraduates  wear 
moustaches,  and  a  don  looks  like  any  body  else. 

Perhaps  that  very  sense  of  the  ridiculous  which 
was  gratified  by  seeing  so  stately  a  being  lose  all 
his  dignity  in  instant  and  groundless  alarm  was 
owing  to  the  susceptibility  of  disposition  which, 
on  the  one  side,  hurried  him  into  absurd  extrav- 
agances, and,  on  the  other  side,  cost  him  his  very 
life  in  disappointed  longings  for  the  presence  of 
his  self-chosen  friend. 

The  case  of  the  canary  was  as  follows  : 

It  belonged  to  the  head  nurse,  and  was  kept  in 
the  day-nursery  with  the  children.  At  all  meal- 
times the  cage  was  always  placed  on  the  table, 
and  the  bird  received  much  notice.  It  so  hap- 
pened that  the  children  went  away  for  a  few 
weeks'  visit.  Although  the  nurse  had  the  bird 
in  her  room,  it  pined  for  the  society  of  the  chil- 
dren, refused  to  eat,  and  in  a  day  or  two  was 
found  dead  at  the  bottom  of  the  cage. 

The  following  story  is  related  by  Mrs.  Webber 
in  "The  Song-birds  of  America,"  and  shows  how 
a  bird  actually  died  because  he  thought  that  he 
had  lost  the  love  of  his  mistress. 

Mrs.  Webber  had  just  lost  a  pet  thrush,  and 
was  inconsolable.  However,  a  piping  bullfinch 
was  brought  as  a  present,  and  liked  to  teach  her 
the  airs  which  he  knew.  At  first  the  bereaved 
lady  would  not  listen  to  him,  but  his  winning 
ways  quite  overcame  her. 

"Although  I  still  said  I  did  not  love  him,  yet 
I  talked  a  great  deal  to  the  bird  ;  and  as  the  lit- 
tle fellow  grew  more  and  more  cheerful,  and  sang 
louder  and  oftener  each  day,  and  was  getting  so 
handsome,  I  found  plenty  of  reasons  for  increas- 
ing my  attentions  to  him :  and  then,  above  all 
things,  he  seemed  to  need  my  presence  quite  as 


much  as  sunshine ;  for  if  I  went  away,  if  only  to 
my  breakfast,  he  would  utter  the  most  piteous 
and  incessant  cries  until  I  returned  to  him; 
when,  in  a  breath,  his  tones  were  changed,  and 
he  sang  his  most  enchanting  airs. 

"He  made  himself  most  fascinating  by  his 
polite  adoration ;  he  never  considered  himself 
sufficiently  well  dressed ;  he  was  most  devoted 
in  his  efforts  to  enchain  me  by  his  melodies ; 
art  and  nature  both  were  called  to  his  aid,  until, 
finally,  I  could  no  longer  refrain  from  expressing 
in  no  measured  terms  my  admiration.  He  was 
then  satisfied,  not  to  cease  his  attentions,  but,  to 
take  a  step  further,  he  presented  me  with  a  straw, 
and  even  with  increased  appearance  of  adulation. 

"From  that  time  he  claimed  me  wholly;  no 
one  else  could  approach  the  cage ;  he  would  fight 
most  desperately  if  any  one  dared,  and  if  they 
laid  a  finger  on  me  his  fury  was  unbounded ;  he 
would  dash  himself  against  the  bars  of  his  cage, 
and  bite  the  wires,  as  if  he  would  obtain  his  lib- 
erty at  all  hazards,  and  thus  be  enabled  to  pun- 
ish the  offender. 

"If  I  went  away  now,  he  would  first  mourn, 
then  endeavor  to  win  me  back  by  sweet  songs. 
In  the  morning  I  was  awakened  by  his  cries, 
and  if  I  but  moved  my  hand  his  moans  were 
changed  into  glad  greetings.  If  I  sat  too  quiet- 
ly at  my  drawing,  he  would  become  weary,  seem- 
ingly, and  call  me  to  him ;  if  I  would  not  come, 
he  would  say,  in  gentle  tone,  '  Come-e-here ! 
come-e-here!'  so  distinctly  that  all  my  friends 
recognized  the  meaning  of  the  accents  at  once ; 
and  then  he  would  sing  to  me. 

"All  the  day  he  would  watch  me:  if  I  were 
cheerful,  he  sang  and  was  so  gay ;  if  I  were  sad, 
he  would  sit  by  the  hour  watching  every  move- 
ment ;  and  if  I  arose  from  my  seat,  I  was  called 
'Come-e-here;'  and  whenever  he  could  manage 
it,  if  the  wind  blew  my  hair  within  his  cage,  he 
would  cut  it  off,  calling  me  to  help  him,  as  if  he 
thought  I  had  no  right  to  wear  any  thing  else 
than  feathers ;  and  if  I  would  have  hair,  it  was 
only  suitable  for  nest-building.  If  I  let  him  fly 
about  the  room  with  the  painted  finch,  he  would 
follow  so  close  in  my  footsteps  that  I  was  in  con- 
stant terror  that  he  would  be  stepped  upon,  or  be 
lost,  in  following  me  from  the  room. 

"At  last  he  came  to  the  concksion  that  I 
could  never  build  a  nest.  I  never  seemed  to  un- 
derstand what  to  do  with  the  nice  materials  he 
gave  me ;  and  when  I  offered  to  return  them,  he 
threw  his  body  to  one  side,  and  looked  at  me  so 
drolly  from  one  eye  that  I  was  quite  abashed. 
From  that  time  he  seemed  to  think  I  must  be  a 
very  young  creature,  and  most  assiduously  fed  me 
at  stated  periods  during  the  day,  throwing  up  from 


118 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


his  own  stomach  the  half-digested  food  for  my 
benefit,  precisely  in  the  manner  of  feeding  young 
birds. 

"But  I  did  not  like  this  sort  of  relationship 
very  much,  and  determined  to  break  it  down ; 
and  forthwith  commenced  by  coldly  refusing  to 
be  fed,  and,  as  fast  as  I  could  bring  my  hard  heart 
to  do  it,  breaking  down  all  the  gentle  bonds  be- 
tween us. 

"  The  result  was  sad  enough.  The  poor  fel- 
low could  not  bear  it :  he  sat  in  wondering  grief 
— he  would  not  eat;  at  night  I  took  him  in  my 
hand,  and  held  him  to  my  cheek :  he  nestled 
closely,  and  seemed  more  happy,  although  his  lit- 
tle heart  was  too  full  to  let  him  speak.  In  the 
morning  I  scarcely  answered  his  tender  love-call, 
'Come-e-here;'  but  I  sat  down  to  my  drawing, 
thinking  if  I  could  be  so  eold  much  longer  to  such 
a  gentle  and  uncomplaining  creature. 

"  I  presently  arose  and  went  to  the  cage.  Oh, 
my  poor,  poor  bird!  he  lay  struggling  on  the 
floor.  I  took  him  out — I  tried  to  call  him  back 
to  life  in  every  way  that  I  knew,  but  it  was  use- 
less ;  I  saw  he  was  dying— his  little  frame  was 
even  then  growing  cold  within  my  warm  palm. 
I  uttered  the  call  he  knew  so  well ;  he  threw 
back  his  head,  with  its  yet  undimmed  eye,  and 
tried  to  answer  ;  the  effort  was  made  with  his  last 
breath.  His  eye  glazed  as  I  gazed,  and  his  atti- 
tude was  never  changed.  His  little  heart  was 
broken.  I  can  never  forgive  myself  for  my  cru- 
elty! Oh,  to  kill  so  gentle  and  pure  a  love  as 
that!" 

Many  of  my  readers  will  anticipate  the  subject 
of  the  next  few  pages,  namely,  "  Grayfriars'  Bob- 
by," a  dog  whose  love  of  its  master  long  survived 
death.  I  have  been  acquainted  with  the  story  of 
this  faithful  animal  for  many  years — long,  indeed, 
before  the  touching  narrative  was  made  public 
through  the  very  prosaic  medium  of  the  tax-gath- 
erer. 

In  the  Scotsman  of  April  13,  1867,  the  follow- 
ing narrative  appeared : 

"A  very  singular  and  interesting  occurrence 
was  yesterday  brought  to  light  in  the  Burgh  Court 
by  the  hearing  of  a  summons  in  regard  to  a  dog- 
tax.  Eight  and  a  half  years  ago,  it  seems  a  man 
named  Gray,  of  whom  nothing  now  is  known,  ex- 
cept that  he  was  poor,  and  lived  in  a  quiet  way 
in  some  obscure  part  of  the  town,  was  buried  in 
Old  Grayfriars'  Church-yard.  His  grave,  leveled 
by  the  hand  of  time  and  unmarked  by  any  stone, 
is  now  scarcely  discernible ;  but,  although  no  hu- 
man interest  would  seem  to  attach  to  it,  the  sa- 
cred spot  has  not  been  wholly  disregarded  and 
forgotten.  During  all  these  years  the  dead  man's 
faithful  dog  has  kept  constant  watch  and  guard 


over  the  grave  ;  and  it  was  this  animal  for  which 
the  collectors  sought  to  recover  the  tax. 

"  James  Brown,  the  old-curator  of  the  burial- 
ground,  remembers  Gray's  funeral,  and  the  dog, 
a  Scotch  terrier,  was,  he  says,  one  of  the  most 
conspicuous  of  the  mourners.  The  grave  was 
closed  in  as  usual,  and  next  morning  '  Bobby,'  as 
the  dog  is  called,  was  found  lying  on  the  new-made 
mound.  This  was  an  innovation  which  old  James 
could  not  permit ;  for  there  was  an  order  at  the 
gate  stating,  in  the  most  intelligible  characters, 
that  dogs  were  not  admitted.  '  Bobby '  was  ac- 
cordingly driven  out ;  but  next  morning  he  was 
there  again,  and  for  the  second  time  was  dis- 
charged. The  third  morning  was  cold  and  wet ; 
and  when  the  old  man  saw  the  faithful  animal, 
in  spite  of  all  chastisement,  still  lying  shivering 
on  the  grave,  he  took  pity  on  him,  and  gave  him 
some  food. 

"  This  recognition  of  his  devotion  gave  '  Bobby ' 
the  right  to  make  the  church-yard  his  home ;  and 
from  that  time  to  the  present  he  has  never  spent 
a  night  away  from  his  master's  tomb.  Often  in 
bad  weather  attempts  have  been  made  to  keep  him 
within  doors,  but  by  dismal  howls  he  has  succeed- 
ed in  making  it  known  that  this  interference  is  not 
agreeable  to  him,  and  latterly  he  has  always  been 
allowed  his  own  way.  At  almost  any  time  dur- 
ing the  day  he  may  be  seen  in  or  about  the  church- 
yard ;  and  no  matter  how  rough  the  night  may  be, 
nothing  can  induce  him  to  forsake  the  hallowed 
spot,  whose  identity,  despite  the  irresistible  oblit- 
eration, he  has  so  faithfully  preserved. 

"  Bobby  has  many  friends,  and  the  tax-gather- 
ers have  by  no  means  proved  his  enemies.  A 
weekly  treat  of  steaks  was  long  allowed  him  by 
Sergeant  Scott,  of  the  Engineers  ;  but  for  more 
than  six  years  he  has  been  regularly  fed  by  Mr. 
Traill,  of  the  restaurant,  6  Grayfriars  Place.  .He 
is  constant  and  punctual  in  his  calls,  being  guided 
in  his  mid-day  visits  by  the  sound  of  the  time-gun. 
On  the  ground  of  harboring  the  dog,  proceedings 
were  taken  against  Mr. Traill  for  payment  of  the 
tax.  The  defendant  expressed  his  willingness, 
could  he  claim  the  dog,  to  be  responsible  for  the 
tax ;  but  so  long  as  the  dog  refused  to  attach  him- 
self to  any  one,  it  was  impossible  to  fix  the  own- 
ership ;  and  the  court,  seeing  the  peculiar  circum- 
stances of  the  case,  dismissed  the  summons. 

"  Bobby  has  long  been  an  object  of  curiosity 
to  all  who  have  become  acquainted  with  his  his- 
tory. His  constant  appearance  in  the  grave-yard 
has  caused  many  inquiries  to  be  made  regarding 
him,  and  efforts  without  number  have  been  made 
to  get  possession  of  him.  The  old  curator,  of 
course,  stands  up  as  the  next  claimant  to  Mr. 
Traill,  and  yesterday  offered  to  pay  the  tax  him- 


LOVE   OF  MASTER. 


119 


self  rather  than  have  Bobby — Gray  friars'  Bobby, 
to  allow  him  his  full  name — put  out  of  the  way." 
Four  years  longer  the  faithful  little  dog  kept 
his  loving  watch,  and  at  last  died,  to  the  regret 
of  all  who  knew  him,  never  having  been  out  of 
reach  of  his  master's  grave  ;  though  in  his  later 
years  the  infirmities  of  doggish  age  forced  him 
to  accept  a  partial  hospitality  of  the  curator.  I 
am  sure  that  Lady  Burdett-Coutts  gladdened  the 
hearts  of  many  lovers  of  animals — as  she  certain- 
ly did  mine — when  she  perpetuated  his  memory 
by  a  lasting  monument  of  granite  and  bronze. 
The  monument  is  a  drinking-fountain  made  of 
Peterhead  granite,  and  surmounted  by  a  life-size 
statue  of  Bobby  in  bronze. 

During  the  many  years  which  elapsed  between 
the  death  of  his  master  and  his  own  departure, 
the  lowly  grave  was  forgotten  by  all  but  the  dog. 
No  stone  guarded  it,  and  not  even  a  mound  mark- 
ed it.  The  grass  and  weeds  grew  luxuriantly 
over  it  as  over  the  level  soil  around.  There  has 
been  for  years  nothing  that  could  mark  out  the 
grave  from  the  surrounding  soil,  but  the  little  dog 
knew  the  sacred  spot  under  which  lay  his  master's 
remains,  and  for  hours  used  to  stand  upon  it,  keep- 
ing his  guard.  A  little  way  from  the  grave  is  an 
altar-tomb,  under  which  Bobby  used  to  shelter 
himself  in  bad  weather,  and  to  which  he  always 
used  to  take  the  bones  and  other  food  provided 
for  him  by  the  generous  persons  whose  names 
have  already  been  mentioned. 

I  possess  three  photographic  portraits  of  Bob- 
by. One  represents  him  as  standing  upon  the 
nameless  grave,  which  is  utterly  indistinguishable 
from  the  weeds  and  herbage  around.  The  por- 
trait is  not  quite  so  good  as  it  might  be  ;  for  just 
as  the  photographer  had  got  the  dog  into  focus, 
and  had  uncovered  the  lens,  Bobby  unfortunately 
caught  sight  of  a  dog  passing  the  gate  of  the 
church-yard,  and,  according  to  custom,  flew  at 
him  furiously.  He  did  not  seem  to  object  to  hu- 
man beings,  but  a  dog  he  never  would  permit  to 
be  even  in  sight. 

The  best  of  the  three  portraits  is  that  from 
which  the  bronze  statue  has  been  taken.  He  is 
sitting  on  the  altar-tomb  above  mentioned,  and 
is  looking  upward  with  that  wistful,  patient,  long- 
ing, yearning  expression  of  countenance  which 
was  peculiar  to  the  animal,  and  is  conspicuous  in 
all  the  photographs,  however  imperfect  they  may 
be. 

Some  animals,  notably  dogf,  have  a  wonderful 
power  of  returning  to  their  beloved  master,  even 
though  they  have  been  conveyed  to  considerable 
distances.  So  many  examples  of  such  feats  are 
on  record  that  I  refrain  from  mentioning  them, 


and  only  give  one  or  two,  the  truth  of  which  is 
guaranteed  by  my  correspondents,  whose  letters  I 
possess. 

"A  gentleman  in  Calcutta  wrote  to  a  friend 
living  near  Inverkeithing,  on  the  shores  of  the 
Firth  of  Forth,  requesting  him  to  send  a  good 
Scotch  collie  dog.  This  was  done  in  due  course, 
and  the  arrival  of  the  dog  was  duly  acknowledged. 
But  the  next  mail  brought  accounts  of  the  dog 
having  disappeared,  and  that  nothing  could  be 
seen  or  heard  of  him.  Imagine  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  gentleman  in  Inverkeithing  when,  a 
few  weeks  later,  friend  Collie  bounced  into  his 
house,  wagging  his  tail,  barking  furiously,  and  ex- 
hibiting, as  only  a  dog  can,  his  great  joy  at  find- 
ing his  master. 

' '  Of  course  all  inquiry  was  made  to  find  out 
how  Collie  got  home  again,  when  it  was  discover- 
ed that  he  had  landed  from  a  collier  which  had 
returned  from  Dundee.  Inquiry  was  made  at 
Dundee,  when  it  was  found  that  the  dog  had 
come  there  on  board  a  ship  from  Calcutta.  Now 
it  can  be  understood  that  the  dog  might  have  rec- 
ognized the  collier,  as  he  might  have  seen  the  ves- 
sel on  some  former  occasion  at  Inverkeithing; 
but  how  he  should  have  selected,  at  Calcutta,  a 
ship  bound  for  Dundee  is  not  so  easily  explain- 
ed." 

There  is  one  solution  of  this  remarkable  prob- 
lem which  has  occurred  to  me.  Probably  the 
dog,  not  liking  the  strange  land  and  the  dark 
faces,  had  slipped  back  to  the  ships  with  which 
he  had  been  familiar  at  home.  Recognizing 
the  well-known  Scotch  accent  on  board  one  of 
the  ships,  he  must  have  got  quietly  on  board, 
and,  on  landing  at  Dundee,  transferred  himself 
to  the  collier.  This  is  merely  conjecture,  but  I 
do  not  see  any  other  mode  of  accounting  for  the 
dog's  wonderful  journey. 

A  scarcely  less  wonderful  feat  was  performed 
some  time  ago  by  a  dog  which  returned  to  his 
mistress  from  a  distance.  It  is  true  that  Man- 
chester is  not  so  far  from  Holywell  as  India  is 
from  Scotland ;  but  the  journey,  though  shorter, 
was  very  much  more  complicated,  and  involved 
several  modes  of  locomotion,  some  of  which,  at 
least,  must  have  been  adopted  by  the  dog.  The 
narrator  of  the  story  is  my  friend,  the  late  J. 
Hatton,  M.D.,  whose  name  has  been  perpetu- 
ated on  a  life-boat  presented  by  his  widow  to 
the  Dungeness  station : 

' '  Some  years  ago,  when  I  lived  in  Manches- 
ter, I  attended,  for  fever,  a  mechanic,  who  worked 
for  Messrs.  Sharp,  Boors,  &  Co.,  the  celebrated 
locomotive- engine  makers.  When  he  became 
convalescent,  he  went  to  the  house  of  his  mother, 


120 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


who  then  lived  at  Holywell,  in  Wales.  After  he 
had  recruited  his  health,  and  was  about  to  re- 
turn home,  his  mother  gave  him  a  dog. 

"  He  led  the  animal  from  Holywell  to  Bagill 
by  road,  a  distance  of  about  two  miles.  Thence 
he  took  the  market-boat  to  Chester,  a  distance  of 
about  twelve  miles,  if  I  remember  right.  Then 
he  walked  through  Chester,  and  took  rail  for 
Birkenhead.  From  that  station  he  walked  to 
the  landing-stage  and  crossed  the  Mersey  to 
Liverpool.  He  then  walked  through  Liverpool 
to  the  station  at  Lime  Street.  Then  he  took 
rail  to  Manchester,  and  then  had  to  walk  a  dis- 
tance of  a  mile  and  a  half  to  his  home. 

"This  was  on  Wednesday.  He  tied  the  dog 
up,  went  to  his  work  on  Thursday  as  usual ;  and 
on  the  Sunday  following,  thinking  that  the  dog 
was  accustomed  to  the  place,  he  set  it  at  liberty. 
He  soon  lost  sight  of  it,  and  on  the  Wednesday 
following  he  received  a  letter  from  his  mother, 
stating  that  the  dog  had  returned  to  her.  Now 
you  will  see  that  the  dog  went  first  by  road,  then 
by  market-boat,  then  through  streets,  then  by 
rail,  then  by  steamer,  then  through  streets  again, 
then  by  rail  again,  and  then  through  streets  again, 
it  being  dark  at  the  time ;  and  yet  the  dog  had 
sagacity  enough  to  find  its  way  back  to  the  scene 
of  its  early  recollections. " 

In  this,  as  in  other  stories  of  a  similar  char- 
acter, one  of  the  most  curious  points  is  the  ex- 
treme rapidity  with  which  the  animal  made  the 
journey.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  market- 
boat  ran  on  Sunday,  but,  at  all  events,  the  dog 
must  have  achieved  the  distance  in  some  forty- 
eight  hours. 

That  the  dog  in  question  retained  a  remem- 
brance of  the  route  by  which  he  had  traveled, 
and  knew  how  to  avail  himself  of  the  means  of 
transit,  I  have  no  doubt  whatever ;  and  this  no- 
tion is  confirmed  by  the  behavior  of  a  dog  that 
belonged  to  one  of  my  correspondents,  Mr.  B., 
who  has  kindly  sent  me  several  dog-biographies 
that  came  within  his  own  experience. 

He  was  then  living  in  East  Lothian,  and  had 
given  the  dog,  a  prize  greyhound,  to  a  friend 
who  lived  at  Greigston,  near  Cupar,  in  Fife.  His 
new  owner  took  him  home,  but  in  a  few  days  the 
dog  was  missing.  His  owner  advertised  his  loss, 
and  the  animal  was  captured  on  the  pier  at  Burnt- 
island,  evidently  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to 
cross  in  the  steamer,  whence  he  would  undoubt- 
edly have  found  his  way  back.  This  pier  is  fully 
twenty  miles  from  the  spot  which  he  deserted. 

I  can  easily  understand  how  a  dog  would  man- 
age to  slip  on  board  by  pretending  to  belong  to 
one  of  the  passengers.  Dogs  are  quite  alive  to 


the  social  distinction  between  those  who  belong 
to  some  particular  owner  and  those  who  are  mas- 
terless,  the  latter  being  looked  upon  by  themselves 
much  as  a  "  masterless  man "  was  regarded  in 
the  time  of  Elizabeth,  i.  e. ,  a  sort  of  social  out- 
cast, unacknowledged  by  his  fellows. 

I  owed  the  life-long  friendship  of  my  inimita- 
ble Rory  to  this  feeling.  He  was  none  of  my 
dog.  He  belonged  to  a  man  of  another  college, 
with  whom  I  had  hardly  exchanged  half-a-dozen 
sentences.  His  master  was  obliged  to  cross  the 
sea  during  the  long  vacation,  and  left  the  dog  in 
the  charge  of  his  scout. 

Being  always  of  an  aristocratic  turn  of  mind, 
Rory  repudiated  the  scout  altogether,  and,  re- 
membering that  he  had  been  in  my  rooms  at 
Merton,  he  paid  me  a  visit  one  morning,  and  en- 
gaged me  as  his  master.  It  was  not  the  least 
use  to  take  him  back,  for  he  always  returned  in 
an  hour  or  two  ;  and  at  last  it  was  tacitly  agreed 
that  he  should  retain  possession  of  me.  He  knew 
the  value  of  a  collegiate  master,  and  was  not  go- 
ing to  be  fobbed  off  with  a  scout.  His  legitimate 
master  having  deserted  him,  he  exercised  his 
right  of  selecting  a  master  for  himself,  and  ac- 
cordingly he  chose  me,  and  kept  me,  and  when 
we  were  parted  he  died  of  grief,  as  has  already 
been  narrated. 

I  know  another  dog  who  displayed  great  wis- 
dom in  escaping  the  snares  of  London  life. 

He  was  a  beautiful  little  dog,  just  the  animal 
whom  a  professional  dog-stealer  would  be  sure 
to  snap  up,  if  possible.  One  day  he  had  been 
for  a  drive  with  his  mistress,  and,  on  being  al- 
lowed to  alight  with  her,  had  in  some  way  been 
separated  from  her.  After  a  vain  search  she 
drove  home,  and  sent  the  servants  to  try  and 
find  her  lost  pet.  He  was  presently  discovered 
by  the  coachman  trotting  quietly  homeward,  not 
in  haste  like  a  lost  dog,  but  with  a  composed  air, 
and  pretending  that  he  belonged  to  some  one  who 
was  going  in  the  same  direction. 

I  have  seldom  met  with  a  more  curious  ex- 
ample of  the  ability  of  a  dog  to  find  his  master 
than  is  related  in  the  following  story : 

"  Some  years  ago,  when  I  lived  in  Fife,  I  was 
coming  to  Edinburgh  with  my  eldest  daughter. 
Zeno  accompanied  us  to  the  station,  about  a  mile 
from  home  ;  and  as  I  did  not  wish  him  to  come 
any  farther,  I  asked  a  gentleman  who  was  living 
with  me  to  take  him  home. 

"Just  as  the  train  was  about  to  start  I  looked 
out  to  see  if  he  had  gone,  when  I  saw  him  fol- 
lowing my  friend  up  the  stairs  at  the  station. 
We  rattled  along  for  a  distance  of  about  twelve 


LOVE  OF  MASTER 


121 


or  fourteen  miles  till  we  reached  Burntisland, 
where  we  had  to  cross  the  Forth. 

"  The  day  became  very  cold,  with  snow  and 
sleet,  so  we  hurried  down  to  the  steamer.  We 
had  left  the  pier  about  ten  minutes  when  a  pas- 
senger, wishing  shelter,  opened  the  saloon-door, 
when,  to  my  great  surprise,  in  walked  Zeno,  snif- 
fing his  way  up  till  he  came  to  me  and  jumped 
upon  my  knee.  How  he  came  was  a  mystery 
to  me,  and  ever  will  be.  All  the  carriages  were 
shut  when  I  last  saw  him.  I  think  that  he  must 
have  returned  and  got  into  the  guard's  van  ;  but 
no  one  could  tell  me,  and  the  strange  thing  was 
that  he  did  not  get  out  at  any  intermediate  sta- 
tion. 

"  I  still  have  the  old  dog,  and  he  is  as  dear  to 
me  as  ever.  Never  was  there  his  like :  never 
did  he  bite,  though  teased  by  children  and  grand- 
children. His  life  is  now  one  of  constant  repose ; 
and  when  the  cord  will  one  day  snap  which  will 
sever  our  long  and  faithful  connection,  I  shall 
mourn  his  loss  as  that  of  a  friend. 

' '  Talk  of '  dumb  animals ' — we  might  well  take 
lessons  from  them  in  many  things  ;  they  would 
even  put  many  to  shame.  Yes,  ours  is  a  higher 
and  a  nobler  destiny  ;  but  yet,  withal,  methinks 
we  might  learn  to  profit  from  much  we  both 
know  and  hear  of  in  the  lives  of  our  animal 
friends  and  relations." 

The  reader  will  perhaps  remember  that  Zeno 
has  already  been  mentioned  under  the  head  of 
"Jealousy." 

It  is  often,  but  erroneously,  said  that  cats  are 
selfish  animals,  attaching  themselves  to  localities 
and  not  to  individuals.  This  idea  has,  perhaps, 
some  ground  of  truth, for  it  is  not  so  easy  to  under- 
stand the  nature  of  a  cat  as  that  of  a  dog  ;  and 
when  a  cat  is  not  understood,  it  is  very  likely  that 
she  cares  less  for  the  inhabitants  of  a  house  than 
for  the  house  itself.  But  I  know  of  many  in- 
stances where  cats  have  been  in  the  habit  of 
moving  about  with  their  owners,  and  have  been 
as  unconcerned  as  dogs  would  have  been. 

My  own  cat  "Pret,"  for  example,  was  first 
taken  from  a  small  house  at  Greenwich  to  a 
large  one  in  the  very  heart  of  the  city,  where  he 
had  the  range  of  many  cellars,  but  no  open  air. 
Next  he  went  to  another  large  house  in  the  city, 
where  he  had  no  cellars,  and  could  only  get  on 
the  leads  by  special  permission.  Then  he  was 
moved  into  a  house  in  the  country,  where  he 
had  neither  cellars,  leads,  nor  tiles,  but  a  garden. 
After  that  we  moved  to  a  larger  house  in  the 
same  village,  whither  he  followed  us  of  his  own 
accord. 

His  mother,  "Minnie,"  always  accompanied 


her  mistress  when  she  was  on  a  visit,  and  I  have 
more  than  once  taken  Minnie  to  her  mistress  for 
a  journey  of  several  miles.  Here  is  a  corrobora- 
tive letter  from  a  lady : 

"  I  believe,  for  my  part,  that  cats  attach  them- 
selves to  people  and  not  to  places.  Our  cats  al- 
ways seemed  to  know  their  masters.  One,  be- 
longing to  my  sister,  would  scratch  all  the  rest 
of  the  family,  though  quite  gentle  with  her.  We 
traveled  about  once  for  a  year  and  a  half  with  a 
favorite  cat ;  though  during  that  time  we  changed 
our  lodgings  many  times,  she  never  left  us.  She 
even  seemed  to  know  our  rooms,  and  kept  to 
them  when  there  were  other  apartments  in  the 
same  house.  She  used  to  knock  at  the  door  when 
she  wanted  to  come  in,  and  would  endeavor  to 
turn  the  handle  by  taking  it  between  her  paws. 
I  have  also  seen  her,  when  she  was  thirsty  and 
could  not  reach  the  water  in  the  jug,  dipping 
her  paws  in  to  get  it  in  that  way.  She  would 
follow  my  brothers  around  the  room  when  they 
whistled  a  tune,  and  rub  her  head  against  their 
hands  and  face,  and  touch  their  lips  with  her 
paw,  as  if  pleased  with  the  sound." 

Perhaps  the  reader  may  remember  the  history 
of  Lady  E.'s  cat  Rosy,  on  p.  109,  in  which  it  is 
incidentally  mentioned  that  she  always  traveled 
with  her  mistress. 

My  late  esteemed  friend,  Mr.  W.  Chambers, 
called  my  attention  some  years  ago  to  a  story  of 
a  cat,  which  showed  that  the  attachment  of  the 
animal  toward  man  is  much  stronger  than  to- 
ward locality.  He  guaranteed  the  truth  of  the 
statement,  and  furnished  me  with  the  name  and 
address  of  the  person  to  whom  the  cat  belonged. 

The  story  is  briefly  as  follows  : 

A  man  and  his  wife,  living  in  the  northern 
part  of  Scotland,  near  the  west  coast,  had  to 
move  to  a  place  on  the  east  coast.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  expense  of  taking  furniture  by 
land,  they  traveled  by  sea,  passing  around  the 
northern  point,  and  landing  near  their  new  home. 
Having  been  told  that  cats  only  cared  for  local- 
ities and  not  for  human  beings,  they,  meaning 
all  kindness,  left  the  animal  behind  them.  They, 
however,  had  not  been  long  settled  in  their  new 
home,  when  the  man,  on  returning  from  work, 
saw  a  cat  sitting  on  the  wall,  and  found  that  it 
was  actually  his  own  cat,  who,  by  some  mysteri- 
ous means,  had  found  him  out.  She  was  hun- 
gry, emaciated,  and  tired,  and  had  evidently 
traveled  by  land  to  the  same  spot  which  they 
reached  by  sea.  The  power  by  which  she  did 
it  may  be  instinct,  or  it  may  be  the  exercise  of 
a  faculty  not  possessed  by  man.  But  I  have  re- 
lated the  anecdote  to  show  how  great  must  have 


122 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


been  the  love  felt  by  the  cat  for  its  master,  when 
it  left  the  'hoiae;  which  it  knew  well,  and  took  a 
long  and  fatiguing  journey  to  join  its  master  in 
a  house  which  it  did  not  know. 

The  following  anecdote  shows  that  the  cat 
does  love  people  more  than  places  : 

"Last  summer  we  were  staying  for  some 
weeks  at  Victoria  Place,  Eastbourne,  and  every 
morning  the  town-crier  came  in  front  of  our 
house,  giving  out  the  public  amusements  for  that 
evening,  and  a  list  of  articles  lost.  Judging  from 
the  large  number  of  things  daily  missing,  either 
visitors  or  inhabitants  must  have  been  a  most 
careless  race.  He  was  the  most  amusing  crier 
I  ever  heard,  making  his  announcements  in  a 
semi-dramatic  style  and  tone,  which,  together 
with  a  good  voice  and  most  pompous  delivery, 
rendered  these  minor  affairs  quite  important. 
One  of  the  missing  items  especially  attracted 
my  attention. 

"  *  Lost,  a  tortoise-shell  cat,of  the  Persian  breed, 
with  a  velvet  collar  around  its  neck,  rather  old 
and  very  shy.  Whoever  will  bring  it  to  the  Crier, 
dead  or  alive,  shall  receive  ten  shillings  reward.' 

"This  was  repeated  for  many  days,  and  then 
the  reward  was  increased  to  one  sovereign,  with 
the  intimation  that  no  larger  sum  would  be  of- 
fered. At  about  the  end  of  three  weeks  the 
*  Cat '  was  taken  off  the  list,  and  I  inquired  after 
the  fate  of  poor  pussy. 

"  The  cat,  which  was  of  rare  beauty,  had  been 

brought  to  this  country  as  a  present  to  Lady , 

and  had  for  years  accompanied  her  when  travel- 
ing. Soon  after  their  arrival  at  Eastbourne, 
that  love  of  liberty  inherent  in  all  animals,  and 
a  due  appreciation  of  the  surrounding  scenery, 
induced  pussy  to  stray  into  the  woods,  where 
she  was  at  first  hunted  as  a  wild  cat,  and  after- 
ward chased  and  shot  at  to  obtain  the  offered 
reward.  She  contrived  to  escape  all  these  dan- 
gers, and  existed  on  the  few  wild  birds  that  she 
could  catch,  until  Lady heard  of  her  where- 
abouts and  went  in  search  of  her.  The  poor 
half-starved  pet,  on  hearing  the  voice  of  her 
mistress  calling  her  name,  jumped  on  her  shoul- 
der, and  thus  terminated  her  rambles  in  the  wild 
woods.  It  is  a  most  dangerous  mistake  to  offer 
a  reward  for  a  lost  pet,  '  dead  or  alive' — the  ad- 
dition of  the  former  word,  while  facilitating  its 
capture,  oftentimes  proving  its  death-warrant." 

The  same  lady,  who  communicated  the  pre- 
ceding anecdote,  has  favored  me  with  two  more, 
showing  the  attachment  felt  by  dogs  to  their 
masters : 

"A  friend  of  ours,  a  great  traveler,  who  has 


generally  several  dogs  of  various  breeds,  always 
takes  one  of  them  with  him,  making  it  a  rule 
to  take  a  different  dog  each  voyage,  in  order,  as 
he  says,  'to  give  them  all  a  foreign  education  ;' 
home  occupations  preventing  him  from  besto\v- 
iug  much  time  upon  them  when  in  England. 
Our  dogs  do  not  have  this  advantage,  being  gen- 
erally left  at  home  during  our  absence  in  charge 
and  under  the  tuition  of  an  old  housekeeper. 

"A  remarkable  instance  of  the  power  of  scent 
was  manifested  by  our  little  Maltese  dog, '  Joey. ' 
Our  travels  are  often  long  in  duration,  and  far 
distant ;  but,  however  numerous  the  post-offices 
through  which  our  letters  passed,  he  could  al- 
ways distinguish  them  from  others,  evincing 
great  joy  when  allowed  to  smell  them,  and  often 
trying  to  obtain  possession.  He  was  anxiously 
watching  the  postman's  knock  one  morning, 
when  several  letters  arrived.  Accidentally  they 
all  fell  to  the  ground.  Joey  took  advantage  of 
his  position,  selected  ours,  and  rushed  off  in 
great  glee,  giving  the  old  housekeeper  a  famous 
run  around  the  garden,  and  then  most  decid- 
edly refusing  to  give  up  his  prize.  She  was 
obliged  to  adopt  the  expedient  of  slipping  the 
letter  (slightly  damaged)  out  of  the  envelope,  and 
allowing  him  to  retain  the  latter,  which  he  car- 
ried off  in  triumph  to  his  basket." 

This  is  the  same  dog  of  whom  several  anec- 
dotes have  already  been  related,  showing  his 
great  mental  capacities. 

As  far  as  I  can  learn,  all  animals  have  not 
only  a  capacity  for  the  society  of  men,  but  an 
absolute  yearning  for  it.  This  feeling  may  be 
in  abeyance,  as  having  received  no  development 
at  the  hands  of  man  ;  but  it  is  still  latent,  and 
may  be  educed  by  those  who  are  capable  of  ap- 
preciating the  character  of  the  animal.  Tigers, 
for  example,  are  not  generally  considered  the 
friends  of  mankind,  and  yet  the  Indian  fakirs 
will  travel  about  the  country  with  tame  tigers, 
which  they  simply  lead  with  a  slight  string,  and 
which  will  allow  themselves  to  be  caressed  by 
the  hands  of  children  without  evincing  the  least 
disposition  to  make  a  meal  of  them. 

In  the  case  of  domestic  animals,  even  the 
fiercest  of  them  have  this  innate  longing  for  hu- 
man society,  and  will  indulge  it  when  they  have 
the  chance.  This  chance  generally  occurs  by 
means  of  confidence  on  behalf  of  the  human 
being.  The  animal  is  surprised  to  see  some,  one 
who  is  not  afraid  of  him,  and  so  gives  his  confi- 
dence in  return.  The  reader  will  perhaps  re- 
member how  that  eminently  ferocious  "Mess" 
became  my  very  good  friend.  A  somewhat 
similar  case  has  just  been  related  to  me. 


LOVE   OF  MASTER. 


A  little  girl,  about  two  years  old,  wandered 
from  her  nurse,  and  was  lost.  At  last  the  child 
was  found  asleep  in  the  kennel  of  a  peculiarly 
savage  bloodhound,  named  "Rob."  The  dog 
was  jealously  guarding  his  little  charge,  and 
would  let  no  one  approach  until  the  mother  came. 
She  called  the  child,  who  came  to  her,  followed 
by  Rob.  She  took  the  child  home,  but  Rob  in- 
sisted on  accompanying  them  ;  and  as  they  went, 
the  little  girl  held  her  mother  with  one  hand 
and  Rob's  ear  with  the  other — the  child  being 
so  small,  and  Rob  so  large,  that  he  had  to  walk 
all  the  way  with  his  head  bent  down. 

I  have  read  an  account,  but  do  not  recollect 
where,  of  a  boy  who  went  into  a  stable  inhabited 
by  a  notorious  "  savage."  He  did  not  know  the 
character  of  the  animal,  gave  him  bread  and 
other  delicacies,  and  the  horror  of  the  groom 
may  be  imagined  when  one  day  he  found  the  boy 
and  the  horse  lying  together  on  the  floor  of  the 
stable — the  boy  not  having  the  slightest  idea  of 
the  character  of  the  horse,  and  the  horse  not 
having  the  least  intention  of  hurting  the  boy, 
but  cherishing  him  as  a  valued  companion. 

I  have  now  the  pleasure  of  giving  a  few  little 
histories  showing  the  affection  which  is  often 
entertained  for  man  by  animals  which  he  is  not 
generally  accustomed  to  consider  as  his  compan- 
ions. I  have  already  mentioned  an  instance  of 
friendship  between  a  sheep  and  cows,  and  I  now 
give  two  examples  of  the  same  attachment  of 
sheep  to  man : 

"We  had  a  pet  lamb,  which  was  fed  by  the 
cook.  When  the  lamb  was  about  six  weeks 
old,  the  cook  became  ill,  and  was  confined  to 
bed  for  some  days.  While  she  was  ill,  the  lamb 
left  its  usual  place  of  abode,  lay  beneath  her 
bed,  and  refused  all  food,  although  the  milk  was 
offered  from  the  usual  bottle.  It  did  not  seek 
nor  worry  the  sick  servant,  but  lay  perfectly  quiet 
under  her  bed. 

* '  A  pet  sheep  of  my  late  brother  has  come 
to  end  its  days  with  us  at  Bassendean.  This 
sheep  was  the  constant  out-door  companion  of 
my  brother  and  his  niece.  They  were,  however, 
obliged  to  give  up  walking  with  him,  for  he 
would  insist  on  pushing  his  way  between  them, 
and  would  not  condescend  to  walk  on  one  side. " 

We  are  rather  apt  to  consider  the  goose  (in- 
cluding gander)  as  a  peculiarly  stupid  bird,  and 
to  use  its  name,  as  we  do  that  of  the  ass,  as  a 
synonym  for  folly.  Yet  a  greater  mistake  could 
not  be  made  in  either  case.  We  have  already 
been  told  of  an  ass  which  his  master  was  obliged 
to  sell  because  he  was  too  clever  to  be  kept,  and 


e  same 
tion  between 


led  the  other  a 
writer  now  tells  us 
a  goose  and  a  man : 

"A  goose — not  a  gander — in  the  farm-yard 
of  a  gentleman,  was  observed  to  take  a  particu- 
lar liking  to  her  owner.  This  attachment  was 
so  uncommon  and  so  marked  that  all  about  the 
house  and  in  the  neighborhood  took  notice  of  it ; 
and,  consequently,  the  people,  with  the  propen- 
sity they  have  to  give  nicknames,  and  with  the 
sinister  motive,  perhaps,  of  expressing  their  sense 
of  the  weak  understanding  of  the  man,  called 
him  '  Goosey.'  Alas  for  his  admirer,  the  goose's 
true  love  did  not  yet  run  smooth  ;  for  her  mas- 
ter, hearing  of  the  ridicule  cast  upon  him,  to 
abate  her  fondness,  insisted  on  her  being  locked 
up  in  the  poultry-yard. 

"Well,  shortly  after  he  goes  to  the  adjoining 
town  to  attend  petty  sessions ;  and  in  the  mid- 
dle of  his  business  what  does  he  feel  but  some- 
thing wonderfully  warm  and  soft  rubbing  against 
his  leg ;  and  on  looking  down  he  saw  his  goose, 
with  neck  protruded,  while  quivering  her  wings 
in  the  fullness  of  enjoyment,  looking  up  to  him 
with  unutterable  fondness.  This  was  too  much 
for  his  patience  or  the  by-standers'  good-man- 
ners ;  for,  while  it  set  them  wild  with  laughter, 
it  urged  him  to  a  deed  he  should  ever  be  ashamed 
of;  for,  twisting  his  thong- whip  about  the  goose's 
neck,  he  swung  her  round  and  round  until  he 
supposed  her  dead,  and  then  he  cast  her  on  the 
adjoining  dunghill. 

"  Not  very  long  after,  Mr.  Goosey  was  seized 
with  a  very  severe  illness,  which  brought  him 
to  the  verge  of  the  grave ;  and  one  day,  when 
slowly  recovering,  and  allowed  to  recline  in  the 
window,  the  first  thing  he  saw  was  his  goose, 
sitting  on  the  grass,  and  looking  with  intense 
anxiety  at  him.  The  effect  on  him  was  most 
alarming. 

"  '  What!'  says  he,  'is  this  cursed  bird  come 
back  to  life  ?  and  am  I,  for  my  sins,  to  be  haunt- 
ed in  this  way  ?' 

"  '  Oh,  father,'  says  his  daughter, '  don't  speak 
so  hardly  of  the  poor  bird.  Ever  since  your  ill- 
ness it  has  sat  there  opposite  your  window ;  it 
scarcely  takes  any  food.' 

"Passion,  prejudice,  the  fear  of  ridicule,  all 
gave  way  before  a  sense  of  gratitude  for  this  un- 
utterable attachment.  The  poor  bird  was  im- 
mediately taken  notice  of,  and  treated  from  hence- 
forth with  great  kindness ;  and,  for  all  that  I  know, 
goose  and  Goosey  are  still  bound  in  as  close  ties 
as  man  and  bird  can  be." 

The  second  story,  told  by  the  same  writer  from 
his  own  observation,  has  such  a  tragic  conclusion 


124 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


that  I  could  hardly  make  up  my  mind  to  print  it. 
There  is  in  both  cases  extraordinary  love,  amount- 
ing indeed  to  worship,  on  the  part  of  the  bird  to- 
ward man.  In  both  cases  there  is  not  only  a 
want  of  reciprocity,  but  actual  ingratitude,  on  the 
part  of  the  man  toward  the  bird — redeemed,  how- 
ever, in  the  preceding  anecdote  by  repentance 
and  reciprocation  of  friendship  : 

"I  must  tell  you,  among  many  anecdotes  I 
know  of  geese,  one  that  came  under  my  own  ob- 
servation. When  a  curate  in  the  county  of  Kil- 
dare,  my  next  neighbor  was  a  worthy  man  who 
carried  on  the  cotton-printing  business,  and  who, 
though  once  in  very  prosperous  circumstances, 
was  now,  in  "consequence  of  a  change  in  the  times, 
very  poor. 

"  In  his  mill-yard  was  a  gander,  who  had  been 
there  forty  years  ;  he  was  the  largest  bird  of  his 
kind  I  ever  saw.  His  watchfulness  was  excess- 
ive :  no  dog  could  equal  him  in  vigilance,  nei- 
ther could  any  dog  be  more  fierce  in  attacking 
strangers  or  beggars  ;  he  followed  his  old  master 
wherever  he  went,  and  at  his  command  would  fly 
at  any  man  or  beast ;  and  with  his  bill,  wings, 
and  feet  he  could  and  would  hurt  severely. 

' '  Whenever  my  neighbor  paid  me  a  visit,  the 
gander  always  accompanied  him  ;  and  as  I  was 
liberal  of  oats,  and  had  besides  one  or  two  geese 
in  my  yard,  he  would,  before  his  master  rose  in 
the  morning,  come  up  and  give  me  a  call ;  but 
neither  the  oats  nor  the  blandishments  of  the 
feathered  fair  could  keep  him  long  away,  and  he 
soon  solemnly  stalked  back  to  his  proper  station 
at  the  mill. 

"Well,  year  after  year  I  was  perfecting  my 
friendship  with  Toby,  the  gander,  and  had  certain- 
ly a  large  share  in  his  esteem ;  when  one  winter, 
after  being  confined  to  the  house  with  a  severe 
cold,  I,  in  passing  through  the  mill-yard,  inquired 
for  my  friend,  whom  I  could  nowhere  see. 

"  *  Oh,  sir,'  said  the  man— and  he  was  about 
the  place  as  long  as  Toby  himself—'  Toby's  gone. ' 

"  '  Gone  where?' 

"'Oh,  he  is  dead.' 

"'How!  dead?' 

"  'Why,  we  ate  him  for  our  Christmas  dinner.' 

'"Ate  him!' 

"  I  think  I  have  been  seldom  in  the  course  of 
my  life  more  astonished  and  shocked.  Positive- 
ly I  would  have  given  them  a  fat  cow  to  eat,  could 
I  have  saved  poor  Toby ;  but  so  it  was.  Upon  in- 
quiry, I  found  out  that  the  poor  gentleman  had 
not  means  to  buy  his  Christmas  dinner ;  that  he 
was  too  proud  to  go  in  debt,  and,  determined  as 
he  was  to  give  his  people  a  meat  dinner,  poor 
Toby  fell  a  sacrifice  to  proud  poverty.  While 
honoring  the  man  for  his  independence,  I  confess 


|  I  never  could  look  upon  him  afterward  without 
a  sense  of  dislike.  I  did  not  either  expect  or  de- 
sire that  he  should  suffer  as  he  who  slew  the  al- 
batross, but  I  was  sure  that  he  would  not  be  the 
better  in  this  world  or  the  next  for  killing  the 
gander." 

In  which  sentiment  I,  and  I  hope  all  my  read- 
ers, most  cordially  agree. 

Surveying  all  these  examples  of  love  displayed 
toward  human  beings  by  animals,  it  is  impossible 
really  to  believe  that  such  love  can  die.  Unself- 
ish love  such  as  this,  which  survives  even  ingrat- 
itude and  ill-treatment,  belongs  to  the  spirit  and 
not  to  the  body,  and  all  beings  which  are  capable 
of  feeling  such  love  must  possess  immortal  spirits. 
All  may  not  have  an  opportunity  of  manifesting 
it,  but  all  possess  the  capacity,  and  would  mani- 
fest it  openly  if  the  conditions  were  favorable. 

We  will  just  run  over  the  anecdotes  which  I 
have  given.  In  those  of  the  squirrel,  the  sparrow, 
the  blue  pigeon,  the  jackdaws,  and  the  rook,  we 
have  examples  to  show  that  even  in  the  wild  ani- 
mals the  love  of  human  beings  can  overpower  that 
of  liberty  and  of  their  own  kind,  and  that  they  will 
forsake  both  liberty  and  their  kinsfolk  for  the  soci- 
ety of  man.  I  have  no  doubt  that  this  is  due  to 
their  appreciation  of  a  nature  higher  than  their 
own,  and  the  feeling  that  their  own  nature  is  puri- 
fied and  elevated  by  contact  with  man.  Indeed,  it 
is  a  fact  that,  whenever  man  and  beast  are  brought 
into  contact,  those  which  possess  natures  capable 
of  elevation  and  development  cleave  to  him,  court 
him,  and  thrive  by  his  presence ;  whereas  those 
which  are  incapable  of  improvement  perish  before 
his  presence. 

It  is  the  same  with  the  human  race.  When  civ- 
ilized man  comes  in  contact  with  a  barbarian,  the 
latter  rapidly  tends  toward  civilization,  throws 
off  his  barbarian  customs,  adopts  those  of  the 
superior  being,  learns  by  degrees  his  arts  and  sci- 
ences, and  so  gradually  merges  into  civilization. 
With  the  savage  the  case  is  different.  He  can 
not  learn  any  thing  good  from  the  higher  race. 
He  may,  and  does,  gain  means  by  which  to  de- 
velop more  completely  his  evil  tendencies,  but  is 
utterly  incapable  of  improvement.  He  can  nei- 
ther replenish  the  earth  nor  subdue  it,  and  so  he 
perishes  before  the  presence  of  those  who  do,  at 
all  events,  endeavor  to  cany  out  that  which  is  the 
great  mission  of  man.  Wherever  civilized  man 
sets  his  foot,  the  savage  dies  out. 

Why  this  is  we  can  not  say  ;  but  it  is  a  fact  long 
familiar  to  anthropologists.  The  Tasmanians 
have  all  gone.  I  have  portraits  of  the  last  three 
survivors,  all  of  whom  have  since  died.  But  the 


LOVE   OF  MASTER. 


125 


strange  thing  is  that  the  race  has  died  out  for 
want  of  new  births,  not  because  it  was  extirpated 
by  slaughter.  For  years  before  that  final  extinc- 
tion of  the  Tasmanians,  no  children  were  born. 

A  similar  phenomenon,  though  slower  in  its 
operation,  is  now  to  be  seen  in  New  Zealand. 
The  native  race,  splendid  specimens  of  the  sav- 
age as  they  are,  become  yearly  fewer  and  fewer 
in  the  presence  of  the  European,  the  births 
falling  far  short  of  the  deaths.  Even  in  the 
vegetable  world  the  same  idea  is  carried  out,  and 
the  grand  tree-ferns,  as  large  as  our  oaks,  are 
perishing  before  the  advance  of  the  English 
clover.  The  lower  creation,  if  it  can  not  be  ele- 
vated by  the  presence  of  the  higher,  dies  out, 
and  the  same  rule  holds  good  with  man,  with 
beast,  and  with  plant. 

The  next  division  of  the  subject  shows  how 


intense  must  be  the  love  of  animals  to  man, 
when  the  deprivation  of  the  object  of  their  af- 
fection has  killed  them.  We  sometimes  hear 
of  human  beings  dying  from  a  similar  cause, 
and  none  of  us  who  heard  that  a  man  or  woman 
had  died  from  grief  at  the  loss  of  a  friend  would 
think  for  a  moment  that  such  intensity  of  love 
could  proceed  from  any  other  source  than  the 
spirit. 

Lastly,  we  have  cases  where  animals,  not  usu- 
ally made  the  companions  of  man,  have,  un- 
sought, conceived  a  deep  affection  for  human 
beings,  and  have  cherished  that  love  in  spite  of 
neglect,  indifference,  dislike,  and  violence.  Such 
a  love  is  utterly  unselfish,  and  must  issue  from 
the  same  source  that  causes  man  to  abandon 
the  love  of  self  for  the  love  of  others.  It  is,  in 
fact,  loving  the  neighbor  better  than  one's  self. 


126 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
CONJUGAL    LOVE. 

Necessary  Limits  of  Conjugal  Love  among  Animals.— Non-pairing  Animals.— Polygamous  Animals.— Ani- 
mals which  Pair  for  a  Season — Animals  which  Pair  for  Life.— Supply  of  Spare  Partners.— The  Turtle- 
dove, the  Eagle,  and  the  Raven.— Conjugal  Love  in  the  Teal.— Picture  of  the  "Widow."— Conjugal  Love 
among  Fishes.— The  "  Devil-fish  "  and  its  Fate.— The  Chocollito  of  South  America.— Faithlessness,  Sor- 
row, and  Death.— Materials  for  Drama. 


As  may  easily  be  imagined,  there  are  but  few 
animals  in  which  this  kind  of  love  can  be  mani- 
fested. The  greater  number  of  species  have  no 
particular  mates,  but  simply  meet  almost  by 
chance,  and  never  trouble  themselves  about  each 
other  again.  No  real  conjugal  love,  therefore, 
can  exist,  and  it  is  rather  curious  that  in  such 
animals  a  firm  friendship  is  often  formed  between 
two  individuals  of  the  same  sex. 

Next  we  come  to  polygamous  animals,  such 
as  the  stag  among  mammals  and  the  domestic 
poultry  among  birds.  Here  is  a  decided  advance 
toward  conjugal  love,  although,  as  in  the  case 
of  polygamous  man,  that  love  must  necessarily 
be  of  a  very  inferior  character.  Here  is,  at  all 
events,  a  sense  of  appropriation  on  either  side, 
and,  as  has  been  already  mentioned  in  the  chap- 
ter headed  "Jealousy,"  the  proprietor  of  the 
hareui  resents  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  another 
male  to  infringe  on  his  privileges. 

Next  we  come  to  those  examples  where,  as  in 
many  birds,  a  couple  are  mated  for  the  nesting- 
season,  but  do  not  afterward  seem  to  care  more 
for  each  other  than  for  their  broods  of  children. 
If,  during  the  nesting-time,  one  of  the  pair  be 
killed,  the  survivor,  after  brief  lamentation,  con- 
soles itself  in  a  few  hours  with  another  partner. 
There  really  seems  to  be  a  supply  of  spare  part- 
ners of  both  sexes  always  at  hand  ;  for,  whether 
the  slain  bird  be  male  or  female,  one  of  the  same 
sex  is  sure  to  be  ready  to  take  its  place. 

Lastly,  we  come  to  those  creatures  which  are 
mated  for  life,  and  among  them  we  often  find  as 
sincere  conjugal  love  as  among  monogamous 
mankind.  Prominent  among  them  are  the  eagle, 
the  raven,  and  the  dove ;  and  it  is  remarkable 
that  while  we  praise  for  its  conjugal  fidelity  the 
turtle-dove,  the  type  of  all  that  is  sweet,  good, 
and  gentle,  we  entirely  forget  to  accredit  with 
the  same  virtue  the  eagle  and  the  raven,  types 
of  all  that  is  violent,  dark,  and  cunning.  There 
are  many  anecdotes  in  existence  of  the  conjugal 


love  among  such  birds,  but,  as  they  are  so  well 
known,  I  shall  not  refer  to  them,  and  only  men- 
tion one  or  two  with  which  we  are  not  so  famil- 
iar. 

I  shall  give  only  three  instances,  all  of  which 
show  how  deeply  conjugal  affection  can  be  felt 
by  the  lower  animals,  and  how  completely  the 
love  of  self  is  forgotten  in  the  love  of  the  part- 
ner. In  the  first  of  these  instances,  life  was 
risked  in  the  face  of  danger,  and  only  spared  by 
reason  of  forbearance ;  in  the  second,  life  was 
risked  and  lost ;  and  in  the  third  life  was  lost 
without  the  intervention  of  any  external  dan- 
ger. 

In  Hardwicke's  Science  Gossip  for  1870, 
p.  36,  there  is  an  account  of  the  teal,  in  which 
the  conjugal  love  displayed  by  this  bird  is  well 
shown.  The  writer  had  been  duck-shooting, 
and  had  just  shot  a  mallard,  when  a  couple  of 
teal  sprang  up,  alarmed  at  the  report. 

"The  duck,  being  the  nearest,  received  the 
contents  of  the  remaining  barrel,  and  fell  dead 
upon  the  soft  mud  at  the  very  edge  of  the  water. 

"While  speculating  upon  our  good  luck,  and 
putting  in  two  fresh  cartridges,  the  cock  teal, 
which  had  flown  up  to  the  other  end  of  the  pool 
when  his  mate  fell,  turned  back,  and,  after  fly- 
ing up  and  down  several  times  with  mournful 
notes,  returned  to  the  spot  whence  he  rose,  and 
pitched  upon  the  mud,  close  to  the  dead  duck. 
Here  he  remained  for  some  seconds,  nodding  his 
head  and  courtesying,  as  if  about  to  take  wing, 
uttering  a  low  note  the  while,  as  if  to  entice  away 
the  duck,  whom  he  appeared  so  loth  to  leave. 

' '  We  were  so  struck  at  this  manifestation  of 
affection  that  we  could  not  find  it  in  our  heart 
to  shoot  the  poor  bird ;  and,  as  we  moved  on  to 
pick  up  his  mate,  he  rose,  and  was  soon  out  of 
range  again." 

Perhaps  the  reader  may  remember  a  beautiful 
painting  by  Landseer,  entitled  "  The  Widow,"  in 
which  a  similar  scene  is  represented,  except  that 


CONJUGAL  LOVE. 


127 


it  is  the  drake  which  is  lying  dead,  and  the  duck 
which  is  mourning  over  her  deceased  partner. 

Fishes  are  thought  to  be  rather  prosaic  beings. 
They  do  not  possess  much  expression  of  feature, 
at  all  events,  to  human  eyes  ;  and  their  habits 
and  their  looks  are,  as  a  rule,  much  on  a  par. 
Yet  there  is  at  least  one  instance  known  in  which 
a  fish,  and  that  a  singularly  hideous  one,  exhib- 
ited a  degree  of  conjugal  love  which  would  have 
done  honor  to  any  human  being. 

Inhabiting  the  waters  >f  the  Mediterranean 
Sea  is  a  gigantic  ray,  called  popularly  the  Devil- 
fish, and  scientifically  Cephaloptera  Massena. 
These  fishes  are  formed  much  like  our  common 
ray,  but  attain  the  most  enormous  dimensions, 
sometimes  measuring  thirty  feet  across  the  fins. 
The  power  of  this  fish  is  quite  proportioned  to 
its  size.  When  pierced  with  eight  or  ten  har- 
poons, and  towing  behind  it  a  string  of  as  many 
boats,  all  pulling  against  it,  the  devil-fish  has 
been  known  to  drag  the  whole  line  some  ten 
miles  to  sea,  and  finally  to  break  lose  and  escape, 
with  all  the  weapons  still  sticking  in  its  back. 

The  Mediterranean  fishermen  employ  in  the 
capture  of  the  tunny  a  vast  net,  called  a  man- 
drague,  which  is  separated  into  many  chambers. 
In  one  of  these  nets  a  female  devil-fish  contrived 
to  entangle  herself,  was  captured  and  taken 
ashore.  She  weighed  1328  Ibs.  A  male  who 
had  accompanied  her,  but  had  not  got  into  the 
net,  was  disconsolate  at  her  capture,  and  for  two 
days  haunted  the  spot  where  his  companion  had 
been  captured.  He  wandered  round  and  round 
the  nets,  seeking  for  his  lost  mate,  and  was  at 
last  found  in  the  mandrague,  but  dead,  having 
died  of  grief. 

The  last  case  is  that  of  some  little  South 
American  parrots,  called  Chocollitos.  They  are 


charming  little  birds,  gentle,  and  easily  tamed. 
They  are  among  the  monogamous  birds,  and 
are,  as  a  rule,  strictly  faithful  to  their  marriage 
vows.  There  are,  however,  exceptions  to  most 
rules,  and  one  of  these  is  related  by  Froebel,  in 
his  work  on  South  America. 

The  traveler  in  question  was  a  guest  for  a 
while  in  a  house  at  Granada.  In  this  house 
about  twenty  chocollitos  were  kept ;  and,  as  they 
were  all  brought  to  the  house  when  very  young, 
they  did  not  form  their  matrimonial  attachments 
until  after  their  arrival.  Perhaps  among  them 
the  sexes  were  not  equally  divided,  so  as  to  in- 
sure each  bird  a  mate ;  but  the  sad  fact  was 
that,  after  one  pair  had  entered  the  marriage 
state,  another  male  made  love  to  the  wife.  The 
lady  was  weak,  and  yielded  to  the  solicitations 
of  the  too  fascinating  lover. 

The  result  was,  according  to  Froebel's  own 
words,  as  follows  :  "  When  the  husband  under- 
stood the  whole  extent  of  his  misfortune,  and 
after  he  had  made  the  last  unsuccessful  attempt 
to  bring  his  faithless  companion  back  to  the 
path  of  duty,  the  unhappy  creature,  heart-broken 
by  his  wrongs,  took  his  lonely  seat  on  the  perch 
on  which  he  had  passed  happier  nights,  closely 
pressed  to  the  side  of  his  partner,  refused  to  eat 
or  drink,  and  one  morning  was  found  dead  on 
the  floor  below." 

The  reader  may  compare  this  narrative  with 
that  of  the  Mandarin  duck,  narrated  on  page  94. 
In  both  cases  there  was  strong  conjugal  love ; 
but  in  the  former  the  lady  was  faithful,  and  her 
husband  avenged  himself  on  the  disturber  of  his 
domestic  peace ;  while  in  the  latter  the  lady 
was  frail,  and  the  husband  died  of  a  broken 
heart.  Both  narratives  are  wonderfully  human, 
and  each  could  furnish  the  plots  of  a  sensational 
drama. 


128 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
PARENTAL   LOVE. 

Absence  of  Filial  Love  among  Animals.— Analogy  with  Human  Beings.— The  Savage  and  his  Parents.— Parent- 
al Love  among  Animals.— The  "Storge"  of  Theorists.— Identity  of  the  Feeling  in  Animals  and  Man. 
—Endurance  of  Parental  Love  in  Animals.— Exceptions  to  the  General  Rule.— A  Cat  and  Two  Genera- 
tions of  Kittens. — My  own  Cat  and  her. Young. — The  Dog  "Georgie  "  and  her  Daughter. — Abnegation  of 
Self.— The  Fly-catcher  and  my  Cat.— A  Released  Prisoner  and  Joyous  Escape.— A  Courageous  Swallow.— 
Redbreast  and  Viper. — Passive  Courage  in  a  Partridge. — The  Whale  and  her  Young. — A  Duck's  Journey, 
and  Rescue  of  her  Young.— Do  Animals  have  Names  in  their  own  Language  ?— The  Mystery  of  Parental 
Love  in  Birds.— Love  and  Intellect — Parental  Love  among  Fishes — The  Stickleback  and  its  Nest Ap- 
parent Reversion  of  Parental  Love. — The  Pipe-fishes  and  Sea-horses. — The  Cursorial  Birds  and  their 
Eggs.— A  Brave  Spider.— Comparison  between  Man  and  Animals. 


BEFORE  beginning  this  subject,  I  can  not  but 
remark  the  apparently  singular  fact  that,  whereas 
among  the  lower  animals  we  find  so  many  in- 
stances of  the  love  of  parents  toward  their  off- 
spring, we  see  so  few,  if,  indeed,  any  trustworthy 
accounts  of  the  Filial  Love,  or  love  of  children 
toward  their  parents.  Yet  the  same  analogy 
prevails  in  this  as  in  other  cases  which  have  al- 
ready come  before  us,  and  we  must  look  to  man 
if  we  wish  to  understand  the  lower  animals. 
Even  human  nature  must  be  highly  developed 
before  filial  love  can  find  any  place  in  the  affec- 
tions. In  the  savages  it  barely  exists  at  all,  and 
certainly  does  not  survive  into  mature  years. 

Take,  for  example,  even  such  fine  specimens 
of  the  savage  as  the  North  American  Indian 
and  the  Fijian.  The  idea  of  being  subject  to 
their  parents  never  enters  their  heads  ;  still  less 
does  the  idea  of  loving  them.  It  is  the  glory 
of  a  North  American  Indian  boy,  at  as  early  an 
age  as  possible,  to  despise  his  mother  and  defy 
his  father.  And  the  women  are  just  as  bad  as 
the  men.  They,  rejoicing  in  the  pride  of  youth 
and  strength,  utterly  despise  the  elder  and  feeble 
women,  even  though  they  be  their  own  mothers, 
and  will  tear  out  of  their  hands  the  food  which 
they  are  about  to  eat,  on  the  plea  that  old  women 
are  of  no  use,  and  that  the  food  will  be  much 
better  employed  in  nourishing  the  young  and 
the  strong. 

Then,  if  the  tribe  be  on  the  move,  and  those 
who  are  old  and  infirm  are  felt  to  be  hinderances, 
they  settle  the  matter  by  leaving  them  behind. 
They  just  salve  their  consciences  by  building  a 
slight  shelter  of  sticks  and  boughs,  lighting  a 
fire,  and  leaving  a  little  water  and  food.  But 
they  know  perfectly  well  that  before  another  sun 


has  set  there  will  be  nothing  left  of  their  victims 
but  the  bones,  the  wolves  having  made  short 
work  of  them  as  soon  as  the  tribe  was  out  of 
sight.  The  forsaken  make  no  complaints,  neither 
do  those  who  press  forward  expect  a  better  fate ; 
and  hence  it  is  that  they  all  wish  rather  to  fall 
in  battle  than  to  die  a  natural  death,  after  feeling 
themselves  a  burden  to  all  around  them. 

The  charming  little  episode  in  "Robinson 
Crusoe,"  where  Friday  finds  and  rejoices  over 
his  father,  is  a  very  pretty  piece  of  writing,  but 
quite  out  of  accordance  with  the  repulsive  reality 
of  savage  life. 

As  to  the  Fijians,  they  have  not  the  least 
scruple  in  burying  a  father  alive  when  he  begins 
to  be  infirm,  and  assist  in  strangling  a  mother  so 
that  she  may  keep  him  company.  With  regard 
to  the  Bosjesmen  of  South  Africa  and  the  "black 
fellows  "  of  Australia,  I  very  much  doubt  whether 
they  ever  have  possessed  the  least  idea  that  any 
duty  was  owing  to  a  parent  from  a  child.  Nor 
have  they  much  notion  of  duty  from  a  parent 
toward  the  child.  The  father  is  just  as  likely 
as  not  to  murder  his  child  as  soon  as  it  is  born — 
perhaps  rather  more  likely  than  not ;  and  if  he 
be  angry  with  any  one  for  any  reason,  he  has  a 
way  of  relieving  his  feelings  by  driving  his  spear 
through  his  wife  or  child,  whichever  happens  to 
be  nearest. 

Even  the  mother  treats  her  child  rather  worse 
than  a  cow  treats  her  calf,  and  leaves  the  tiny 
creature  to  shift  for  itself  at  an  age  when  the 
children  of  civilized  parents  can  scarcely  be 
trusted  to  pass  a  quarter  of  an  hour  alone. 

This  being  the  case  with  parental  love,  it  may 
be  easily  imagined  that  filial  affection  can  have 
but  little  opportunity  of  development,  and  I  very 


PARENTAL  LOVE. 


129 


much  doubt  whether  in  the  true  savage  it  really  ex- 
ists at  all  in  the  sense  in  which  we  understand  it. 
As,  therefore,  we  find  that  in  the  lower  human 
races  filial  love  either  is  very  trifling,  or  is  ab- 
solutely non-existent,  we  need  not  wonder  that 
in  the  lower  animals  we  find  but  few,  if  any,  in- 
dications of  its  presence. 

We  now  proceed  to  the  subject  of  this  chap- 
ter, namely,  PARENTAL  LOVE,  and  the  various 
modes  in  which  it  develops  itself. 

There  are  many  writers  who  assert  that  pa- 
rental love  in  the  lower  animals  is  not  identical 
with  that  of  man.  They  say  that  it  is  only  a 
sort  of  blind  instinct,  and,  in  order  to  mark  more 
strongly  the  distinction  between  man  and  beast, 
call  the  parental  love  of  the  latter  by  the  name 
of  "storge."  For  myself,  I  really  fail  to  see 
any  distinction  between  the  two,  except  that  in 
civilized  man  the  parental  love  is  better  regu- 
lated than  among  the  lower  animals.  But,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  among  the  uncivilized 
races  it  is  not  regulated  at  all,  and,  indeed, 
many  of  the  beasts  are  far  better  parents  than 
most  savages. 

Neither  can  I  understand  why  the  word  "storge" 
should  be  applied  to  parental  love  among  the  low- 
er animals,  and  not  to  the  same  feeling  in  man. 
The  word  is  used  by  Greek  writers,  together  with 
the  verb  from  which  it  is  formed,  to  signify  the 
love  between  human  parents  and  children.  For 
example,  in  Plato  we  have  the  term  used  for  mut- 
ual love  between  parents  and  children — "The 
child  loves,  and  is  loved  by  its  parents;"  and 
the  same  word  is  used  in  the  same  sense  in  sev- 
eral passages  of  Sophocles  and  other  writers. 

One  argument  which  is  always  employed  by 
those  who  deny  the  identity  of  the  feeling  in 
both  cases  is  that  parental  love  endures  through- 
out life  in  man,  while  in  the  lower  animals  it  ex- 
pires with  the  adolescence  of  the  young.  This 
statement  is  partly,  but  not  entirely,  true.  As  a 
rule,  it  is  true  with  civilized  man ;  but,  as  I  have 
already  shown,  the  parental  love  of  a  savage  does 
not  last  longer  than  that  of  a  bird,  a  cat,  or  a 
dog,  taking  into  consideration  the  relative  dura- 
tion of  life.  And  the  reason  is  the  same  in  both 
cases.  Were  parental  love  to  exist  through  life 
in  the  savage,  the  bird,  or  the  beast,  the  race 
would  soon  become  extinct.  Neither  is  able  to 
support  their  children  longer  than  their  time  of 
helplessness.  The  beast  and  the  bird  can  not, 
and  the  savage  will  not,  provide  for  the  future ; 
and  if  the  young  had  to  depend  upon  their  par- 
ents for  subsistence,  they  would  soon  perish  of 
hunger. 


There  are,  however,  exceptions  to  this  general 
rule,  and  always,  as  far  as  I  can  see,  in  domesti- 
cated animals  whose  means  of  subsistence  are  al- 
ready insured.  Several  of  such  cases  have  late- 
ly come  before  my  notice.  One  has  been  alreadv 
narrated  under  a  different  heading,  i.  e. ,  "  Sym- 
pathy," p.  110,  where  some  traits  of  two  cats,  a 
mother  and  daughter,  are  recorded.  I  here  pre- 
sent the  reader  with  another  anecdote  of  parent- 
al love  surviving  adolescence.  It  is  a  very  re- 
markable story,  because  we  see,  in  the  first  place, 
the  usual  law  prevailing,  and  the  once-favorite 
child  driven  away  in  anticipation  of  a  new  fam- 
ily. That  family  having  perished,  the  original 
parental  love  resumed  its  sway,  and  the  very 
child  which  she  had  angrily  expelled  from  her 
presence  was  recalled,  and  all  the  treasures  of 
her  maternal  tenderness  poured  out  upon  him  : 

"A  cat,  long  an  inmate  of  this  house,  kittened 
this  spring,  and  one  of  her  offspring,  a  Tom,  be- 
ing given  her  to  rear,  she  proved  a  most  fond 
and  solicitous  mother.  The  kitten  grew  and 
throve,  and  soon  became  a  very  fine  and  playful 
young  cat.  The  maternal  feelings  were  con- 
stantly developed,  the  mother  calling  it,  licking 
it,  sharing  and  promoting  its  frolics,  and  exhib- 
iting the  tenderest  anxiety  and  jealousy  when- 
ever any  strange  person  approached. 

"  In  the  midst  of  this  exuberant  affection  a 
change  passed  over  the  cat,  and  the  young  one 
suddenly  became  the  object  of  hate  and  irritation 
to  the  formerly  loving  mother.  She  would  not 
allow  it  to  approach  her ;  and  if  it  only  dared  to 
look  at  her,  she  would  spit  and  hiss  and  fly  at  it, 
becoming  absolutely  savage  when  she  found  it 
near  her. 

"It  soon  became  evident  that  there  would  be 
another  litter  of  kittens,  and  this  sudden  change 
of  manner  was  probably  instinctive  on  the  part 
of  the  cat,  who  found  herself  unable  to  join  in 
the  usual  gambols. 

"  One  day,  however,  a  second  revulsion  of  feel- 
ing took  place :  she  called  her  first-born  in  the 
most  tender  and  yearning  tones,  and  tried  to  en- 
tice it  up-stairs  with  her.  She  was  so  anxious 
to  have  her  son  with  her,  that  she  even  tried  to 
drag  him  up-stairs  by  the  neck  as  she  used  to  do 
when  he  was  a  little  kitten. 

"  Two  days  afterward  the  second  family  was 
born,  and  all  of  them  met  a  watery  death.  The 
cat  did  not  seem  to  miss  or  regret  her  lost 
young,  but  took  back  her  first-born  in  their 
place.  Though  as  large  as  its  mother,  it  at 
once  resumed  all  the  habits  of  its  infancy,  suck- 
ing as  it  had  been  accustomed  to  do.  The  moth- 
er licked  and  caressed  it,  just  as  if  it  had  been  a 
new-born  kitten,  and  displayed  the  greatest  anx- 


130 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


iety  when  the  postman  or  any  stranger  approach- 
ed. The  young  Tom  still  continues  to  suck, 
though  he  has  caught  many  mice  and  eaten 
them." 

A  very  similar  event  occurred  lately  (1873) 
in  my  own  house.  My  cat,  called  by  the  chil- 
dren "Duckie,"  had  a  family,  out  of  which  two 
were  saved.  These  grew  to  be  cats,  and,  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  events,  were  sent  off  by  their 
mother.  In  the  mean  while  a  new  family  ar- 
rived, but,  as  we  already  had  three  cats  in  the 
house,  they  were  at  once  dismissed  from  a  world 
in  which  there  was  no  place  for  them.  Their 
mother  immediately  took  the  two  former  kittens 
into  favor;  and  the  oddest  thing  was  that  she 
treated  them  exactly  as  if  they  had  been  tiny 
helpless  kittens  a  few  days  old. 

Her  conduct  reminded  me  very  much  of  that 
which  we  often  see  in  parents,  especially  if  they 
live  with  or  near  their  children.  They  really 
can  not  understand  that  a  man  of  forty  or  a 
woman  of  thirty  are  any  thing  more  than  chil- 
dren, and  are  greatly  discomposed  whenever 
these  elderly  children  venture  to  think  or  act 
for  themselves.  It  is  the  same  with  old  serv- 
ants ;  and  there  are  many  parents  of  large  fam- 
ilies who  to  the  old  nurse  remain  "  Master  Tom- 
my "  or  "  Miss  Emily  "  to  the  end  of  the  chapter. 

The  next  anecdote  relates  to  the  dog,  and 
shows  that  in  a  civilized  dog,  so  to  speak,  pa- 
rental affection  can  endure  as  in  a  civilized  hu- 
man being: 

"My  dog  '  Georgie'  (short  for  Georgina)  has 
a  daughter,  named  '  Poppie,'  whose  father  was  a 
collie,  she  herself  being  a  retriever.  People  said 
that  it  was  not  safe  to  keep  a  mongrel  of  that 
description,  but  experience  has  proved  the  mis- 
take. 

"  She  is  now  (1873)  five  years  old,  and  the  af- 
fection which  exists  between  mother  and  daugh- 
ter is  really  beautiful.  They  always  sit  close  to- 
gether, and  Georgie  playfully  pinches  her  daugh- 
ter all  over.  If  they  have  been  separated  by  any 
chance,  the  daughter  comes  up  wagging  her  tail, 
and  then  licks  her  mother's  nose  and  mouth. 

"Sometimes  they  go  out  rabbit -hunting  to- 
gether, and  always  act  in  concert.  Each  of 
them  takes  an  opposite  side  of  a  whin-bush,  and 
one  keeps  watch  while  the  other  scrapes.  They 
perfectly  comprehend  the  meaning  of  each  whine 
or  bark,  and  no  two  ladies  could  understand  their 
own  language  better  than  did  these  dogs,  or  be 
more  companionable  to  each  other." 

Here  is  also  another  proof  of  the  fact  that  an- 
imals have  a  language  of  their  own  by  means  of 
which  they  can  convey  definite  ideas  to  each  oth- 


er, nearly  if  not  quite  as  well  as  we  can  do  with 
the  aid  of  words. 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  characteristics  of  pa- 
rental love  is  the  utter  abnegation  of  self  which 
it  gives.  This  is  chiefly  shown  when  the  young 
are  in  danger.  A  human  mother  in  charge  of 
her  child  will  defy  a  danger  before  which  she 
would  shrink  if  alone,  and  in  defense  of  her  off- 
spring will  dare  deeds  of  which  most  strong  men 
would  be  incapable.  For  the  time  her  selfhood 
is  extinguished,  and  her  very  being  is  merged 
into  that  of  the  child  ;  and  rather  than  a  hair  of 
that  child's  head  should  be  touched,  she  would 
calmly  consent  to  endure  the  worst  tortures  that 
could  be  inflicted  upon  her.  Indeed,  if  she 
Avould  not  do  so,  she  would  be  no  true  mother, 
and  would  degrade  herself  below  the  beasts  and 
the  birds,  who  have  no  hesitation  in  performing 
that  duty  to  their  offspring,  though  savans  do 
say  that  they  only  possess  "storge,"  whatever 
they  may  mean  by  it,  and  not  parental  love.  I 
will  now  give  a  few  instances  of  the  marvelous 
courage  inspired  by  parental  love  in  the  lower 
animals. 

Every  one  who  has  paid  even  a  passing  atten- 
tion to  the  habits  of  birds  must  have  noticed  that 
the  spotted  fly-catcher  has  a  habit  of  selecting 
some  favorite  perch,  which  it  frequents  from  day 
to  day,  scarcely  ever  changing  its  haunts.  From 
its  coign  of  vantage  it  keeps  anxious  watch 
around,  and  when  it  sees  an  insect  on  the  wing, 
dashes  off,  captures  it,  and  returns  with  its  prey 
to  its  perch.  It  may  possibly  catch  insects  when 
they  are  not  on  the  wing,  but  I  never  knew  a 
fly-catcher  do  so. 

In  my  garden  there  is  a  young  mulberry-tree, 
which  is  highly  prized,  having  been  sent  special- 
ly from  Japan,  and  being  the  only  survivor  of 
six,  the  others  being  all  killed  by  nocturnal  cats, 
who  found  the  stems  exactly  suitable  for  sharp- 
ening their  claws.  Of  course  the  young  tree  was 
watched  with  exceeding  care,  and  it  was  soon 
seen  to  become  the  favorite  perch  of  a  spotted 
fly-catcher. 

The  bird  followed  the  usual  customs  of  its  kin, 
but  after  a  while  it  began  to  act  in  a  very  strange 
manner,  fluttering  backward  and  forward  be- 
tween the  house  and  the  tree,  chirping  in  a  loud 
and  distressed  tone,  and  evidently  possessed  by 
anger  as  well  as  fear.  The  cause  of  its  extraor- 
dinary action  was  soon  seen  to  be  a  cat,  which 
was  crouching  in  front  of  the  ventilation-aper- 
ture of  the  ground-floor,  and  apparently  watch- 
ing something  behind  the  bars.  The  bird  tried 
in  vain  to  draw  off  the  cat's  attention,  fluttering 
so  closely  that  I  feared  lest  pussy  should  strike 


PARENTAL  LOVE. 


131 


it  down,  and  even  at  times  pecking  at  the  ani- 
mal's tail. 

On  removing  the  cat,  a  young  bird  was  seen 
within  the  grating,  evidently  the  offspring  of  the 
fly-catcher.  These  birds  have  a  way  of  building 
their  nests  in  very  odd  places,  and  I  surmise  that 
in  the  present  case  the  parents  must  have  made 
their  way  through  a  hole  under  the  steps,  and  so 
have  reached  the  ventilating-shaft. 

As  soon  as  the  cat  had  been  removed,  the 
mother-bird,  regardless  of  my  presence,  flew  to 
the  grating  and  began  to  feed  the  young  one. 
She  then  went  off  to  a  little  distance  and  called 
her  offspring.  The  poor  little  bird  did  all  in  its 
power  to  get  through  the  bars,  fluttering  its  wings 
and  answering  its  mother  with  piteous  chirps. 
I  felt  quite  uneasy  about  them  both,  for  the  cat 
was  sure  to  come  back  again,  and  the  mother 
was  so  bold  and  reckless  in  her  assaults  that  I 
feared  for  her  life ;  and  if  she  had  been  killed, 
the  young  one  must  have  died  of  hunger. 

So  I  tried  to  see  if  the  young  bird  was  suffi- 
ciently fledged  to  use  its  wings,  as  in  that  case  it 
might  be  let  out ;  but  it  was  so  timid  that  it  re- 
treated into  the  darkness  as  soon  as  I  approach- 
ed, and  would  not  let  me  examine  it.  An  opera- 
glass,  however,  overcame  the  difficulty,  and,  find- 
ing that  the  young  bird  was  fully  fledged,  I  cut 
away  one  of  the  bars  so  as  to  leave  a  passage, 
and  went  to  some  little  distance. 

The  mother,  who  was  anxiously  watching  me 
from  the  roof  of  an  outbuilding,  went  at  once  to 
the  spot,  and,  after  much  calling,  induced  her  off- 
spring to  come  out  of  the  aperture  which  had 
been  made  for  it.  The  delight  of  the  two  was 
beautiful  to  see ;  but  the  mother  evidently  had 
the  cat  in  her  mind,  and  did  not  mean  to  waste 
any  time  in  placing  her  child  in  safety.  So  she 
induced  it  by  degrees  to  follow  her  up  the  branch- 
es of  an  apricot-tree,  and  thence  to  the  roof  of 
the  house,  where  even  a  cat  could  not  follow. 

In  his  "Birds  of  Ireland,"  vol.  i.,  page  115, 
Thompson  relates  an  anecdote  of  a  spotted  fly- 
catcher. It  had  chosen  for  its  resting-place  the 
unglazed  window  of  an-outhouse  at  Beechmount, 
and  had  there  built  a  nest,  "  which  was  so  com- 
posed of  cobwebs  inside  and  outside  that  no  other 
material  was  visible.  From  its  choice  of  this 
fragile  building  substance,  the  spotted  fly-catcher 
is  called  *  cobweb-bird  '  in  some  parts  of  England. 
On  the  nest  alluded  to  being  approached,  when 
it  contained  young,  the  parent-bird  was  very  bold, 
flying  angrily  at  the  intruder,  uttering  shrill  cries, 
and  approaching  him  so  near  that  it  might  have 
almost  been  struck  with  his  hand." 

The  same  writer  mentions  that  the  spotted  fly- 
catcher is  equally  bold  toward  other  birds,  beating 


away  all  which  dare  to  approach  their  nest.  It 
is  perhaps  worthy  of  notice  that,  in  the  instance 
which  I  myself  observed,  I  did  not  once  see  the 
male  bird ;  possibly  he  may  have  fallen  a  victim 
to  the  cat. 

The  swallow  is  equally  courageous  in  defense 
of  her  nest.  Some  little  time  ago  there  was  a 
swallow's  nest  in  the  porch  of  the  rectory  at  Adis- 
ham — the  bird  being,  of  course,  carefully  protect- 
ed. Not  knowing  of  the  nest,  I  happened  to  be 
standing  near  the  porch,  and  was  much  annoyed 
by  a  swallow,  which  persisted  in  flying  round  and 
round,  uttering  its  shrill,  screaming  cries,  and  oc- 
casionally darting  close  to  my  face.  It  was  not 
until  some  little  time  had  elapsed  that  I  suspect- 
ed the  cause  of  the  bird's  behavior,  and  then,  on 
looking  around,  saw  the  nest  and  the  young  in 
an  angle  of  the  porch. 

In  all  these  cases  the  bird  had  no  hesitation  in 
matching  itself  against  foes  from  which  it  would 
have  shrunk  in  terror  had  not  the  love  of  offspring 
overpowered  the  love  of  life.  It  does  not  in  the 
least  matter  what  the  foe  may  be,  the  parent  at- 
tacking the  most  powerful  enemy  with  as  little 
hesitation  as  if  the  relative  proportions  of  size  and 
strength  were  reversed.  A  snake,  foi  example, 
is  specially  feared  by  birds,  especially  if  it  be  a 
venomous  one ;  and  yet,  if  a  snake  threaten  the 
nest  of  a  bird,  she  will  not  hesitate  to  attack  as 
fiercely  as  if  the  poison-fangs  belonged  to  her,  and 
not  to  her  foe.  The  following  account,  published 
in  the  Dumfries  Courier ,  1853,  shows  how  com- 
pletely parental  love  will  overcome  fear,  and  will 
induce  a  feeble  bird  to  fiercely  attack  a  creature 
from  which  she  would  have  fled  but  for  the  su- 
preme power  of  love : 

"  While  Mr.  Charles  Newall,  granite-hewer  in 
Dalbeattie,  was  plying  his  vocation  at  Craignar 
quarry,  his  attention  was  suddenly  arrested  by 
cries  strongly  indicative  of  distress,  proceeding 
from  one  or  other  of  the  feathered  denizens  of 
the  wood. 

"  On  throwing  from  him  his  tools,  and  hurry- 
ing to  the  spot  whence  the  sounds  proceeded,  he 
discovered  a  robin,  apparently  in  a  state  of  the 
greatest  agitation,  whose  movements  immediately 
certified  him  of  the  true  cause  of  alarm.  An  ad- 
der, twenty  inches  long  and  one  inch  in  circum- 
ference, had  managed  to  drag  itself  up  the  face 
of  the  quarry,  and  was  at  that  moment  in  the 
very  act  of  protruding  its  ugly  head  over  the  edge 
of  a  nest,  built  among  the  stumps  of  cut-down 
bushwood,  which  contained  poor  Mother  Robin's 
fledged  offspring. 

"  Her  maternal  instinct  prompted  her  to  the 
only  defense  of  which  she  was  capable.  She  was 


132 


MAN  Affl)  BEAST. 


engaged,  when  Mr.  Newall  first  got  his  eye  on 
her,  in  alternately  coming  down,  the  one  moment 
upon  her  spoliator,  darting  her  beak  into  its  fore- 
head, and  anon  rising  on  the  wing  to  the  height 
of  a  yard  or  so  above  the  scene  of  danger.  It 
was  the  act  of  a  moment  for  Mr.  Newall  to  dis- 
lodge the  aggressor;  but  in  doing  so  two  of  the 
little  birds  were  thrown  out  of  their  nest,  where, 
however,  they  were  speedily  and  carefully  re- 
placed. 

"While  Mr.  Newall  was  engaged  in  killing  the 
adder,  the  joy  of  the  parent-bird  was  so  excessive 
that  she  actually  perched  on  the  left  arm  of  her 
benefactor,  and  watched  with  an  unmistakable 
and  intense  delight  every  blow  inflicted  by  his 
right  arm  upon  her  merciless  and  disappointed 
enemy;  and  when  that  enemy  was  dead,  she 
alighted  upon  and  pecked  the  lifeless  trunk  with 
all  her  vigor.  Revenge  thus  taken,  she  entered 
her  nest,  and,  having  ascertained  that  all  was  safe, 
swiftly  repaired  to  a  neighboring  branch  and  piped, 
as  best  she  could,  what  was  no  doubt  meant  for  a 
hymn  of  gratitude  and  a  song  of  triumph. 

"When  at  work  since,  Mr.  Newall  has  been 
evidently  recognized  by  the  tiny  biped ;  and  we 
do  hope  that  nothing  may  occur  to  interrupt  a 
friendship  originating  in  circumstances  so  spe- 
cially interesting." 

In  this  account  we  have  several  characteristics 
common  to  man  and  the  lower  animals.  First, 
there  is  parental  affection  ;  next  there  is  courage 
emanating  from  that  effect ;  then  there  is  reason, 
which  told  the  bird  that  the  man,  whom  it  would 
have  regarded  as  an  enemy  but  for  his  attack  on 
the  snake,  was  really  a  friend ;  lastly,  there  is  re- 
venge, inducing  the  bird  to  peck  at  the  body  of 
its  dead  foe,  just  as  a  savage  insults  and  muti- 
lates the  carcass  of  a  slain  enemy. 

From  the  description  of  the  snake  which  is  here 
given,  it  is  tolerably  evident  that  the  reptile  was  a 
viper,  those  creatures  having  a  special  habit  of 
climbing  trees  and  robbing  birds  of  their  young. 
It  has  often  been  found  by  those  who  have  killed 
vipers  that,  after  receiving  the  first  stroke,  the 
reptile  has  opened  its  mouth  and  disgorged  sev- 
eral young  birds,  in  order  to  lighten  itself  and  en\ 
able  it  to  escape  more  quickly.  The  common, 
harmless  snake,  sometimes  called  the  "  grass- 
snake,"  mostly  contents  itself  with  frogs. 

The  preceding  anecdotes  show  active  courage 
in  the  parent;  but  in  Hardwicke's  Science  Gossip 
for  1873,  p.  204,  there  is  an  interesting  account 
of  passive  courage  in  a  partridge: 

"The  affection  and  solicitude  of  the  female 
partridge  for  her  young  is  very  great,  and  in- 
stances are  frequently  seen  by  the  rural  naturalist 


in  his  rambles.  The  closeness  with  which  she 
will  sit  when  about  hatching  is  remarkable.  I 
once  found  a  nest  containing  seventeen  eggs,  on 
which  the  female  was  sitting,  and,  instead  of  fly- 
ing rapidly  away  when  I  approached,  she  allowed 
me  to  stroke  her  glossy  head  and  soft  plumage, 
seeming  to  appreciate  the  familiarity.  Her  con- 
fidence gained  its  reward,  as  all  of  the  eggs  were 
duly  hatched. 

"A  gentleman  in  this  neighborhood,  when 
jumping  across  a  hedge,  alighted  with  a  foot  on 
each  side  of  a  partridge-nest,  where  the  female 
was  sitting.  The  affectionate  bird  did  not  stir, 
even  allowing  the  gentleman  to  stroke  and  fon- 
dle her.  But  more  admirable  still  is  the  ad- 
dress with  which  both  male  and  female  will  draw 
the  spectator  away  from  the  neighborhood  of  their 
brood.  Last  July,  when  walking  along  the  high- 
way, I  disturbed  two  partridges  near  some  tall 
grass.  With  startled  cries  they  whirred  away ; 
and,  alighting  a  few  yards  off  in  the  middle  of  the 
road,  went  through  a  series  of  manoeuvres,  as  if 
desperately  wounded,  both  of  them  groveling 
along  on  their  bellies  in  the  dust,  and  seeming  to 
tumble  over  and  over  in  their  eagerness.  Stop- 
ping some  distance  off,  they  began  to  utter  curious 
plaintive  cries. 

"Being  somewhat  in  a  hurry,  I  did  not  insti- 
tute a  search  for  the  cause  of  this  little  drama, 
the  young ;  but  I  have  seen  a  similar  instance,  in 
which  case  I  captured  one  of  the  plump  little 
chicks,  and  held  it  for  a  time  in  my  hands ;  but 
the  distress  of  the  old  bird  became  so  great  that 
I  soon  released  it.  In  June,  1868,  a  pair  of  par- 
tridges had  their  nest  in  the  clover  field  opposite, 
the  mowers  thoughtfully  leaving  a  tuft  of  clover 
to  shield  the  nest.  It  was  very  amusing  to  see 
how  careful  the  old  birds  were  to  prevent  atten- 
tion being  drawn  to  their  almost  exposed  nest. 
Both  of  them  would  go  in  search  of  food,  and  then 
fly  back  into  the  field  together ;  alighting  within  a 
few  yards  of  the  nest,  and  having  anxiously  scan- 
ned the.  neighborhood  for  a  time,  the  female  would 
slyly  approach  in  a  crouching  attitude,  and  creep 
into  the  nest." 

H  The  proverbial  skill  of  the  lapwing  in  feigning 
lameness  is  too  familiar  to  need  description. 

It  is,  perhaps,  scarcely  necessary  to  cite  here 
the  shamefully  cruel  plan  that  was  formerly  used 
by  whalers  to  secure  their  prey.  If  they  met  with 
a  young  whale,  or  "  calf,"  as  they  called  it,,  they 
always  used  to  harpoon  it,  knowing  that  its  moth- 
er would  come  to  its  rescue,  and  be  so  regardless 
of  her  own  safety  that  there  was  neither  difficulty 
nor  danger  in  harpooning  her  also. 

I  believe  that  this  atrocious  custom  is  now  aban- 


PARENTAL  LOVE. 


133 


doiied,  though  I  fear  from  commercial  rather 
than  conscientious  motives.  The  calf  is  all  hut 
useless;  whereas,  if  it  were  allowed  to  live,  it 
would  grow  into  a  whale,  and  fill  sundry  barrels 
that  would  otherwise  have  to  go  home  empty. 
The  fact,  however,  remains  that  the  whale  is  so 
utterly  forgetful  of  self,  when  its  offspring  is  in 
danger,  that  it  neglects  its  usual  wary  habits,  and 
so  falls  a  victim  to  parental  affection. 

The  following  curious  story  of  parental  affec- 
tion was  communicated  to  me  by  a  lady  express- 
ly for  this  work : 

"Some  years  ago  (in  1868)  our  steward  and 
his  wife  lived  in  the  lodge  at  our  east  gate,  dis- 
tant about  half  a  mile  from  the  house.  As  a  fa- 
vor, the  steward's  wife  allowed  a  common  duck  to 
sit  upon  a  number  of  duck's  eggs,  which,  according 
to  agreement,  were  to  be  taken  away  as  soon  as 
they  were  hatched.  In  due  time  the  eggs  were 
hatched,  and  the  young  ducklings  removed  to  our 
house,  and  placed  in  the  poultry-yard,  under  the 
charge  of  a  hen  who  had  already  a  few  ducklings  to 
look  after.  The  yard  in  question  is  protected  by  a 
wall  nearly  three  feet  high,  and  upon  this  wall  is 
a  wire  netting  seven  feet  in  height. 

"  In  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  the  mother 
duck  (who  had  never  left  the  lodge  in  her  life) 
came  waddling  up  all  the  way  to  the  stables,  got 
on  the  top  of  the  wall,  and  managed  to  get  her 
own  little  ducklings  through  the  wire  netting. 
Having  done  this,  she  took  them  back  to  the 
lodge,  leaving  the  hen  in  quiet  possession  of  the 
ducklings  of  which  she  previously  had  charge. 

"As  soon  as  this  was  known,  the  ducklings 
were  again  taken  to  the  house,  and  the  duck 
shut  up  in  a  dark  place  at  the  lodge  for  two 
days.  But  no  sooner  did  she  gain  her  liberty 
than  she  made  another  journey  to  the  poultry- 
yard,  and  again  began  to  drag  her  offspring 
through  the  wire  net,  this  time  killing  one  by 
letting  it  fall  off  the  dike.  I  therefore  bought 
the  duck  from  her  owner,  placed  her  in  the 
poultry-yard,  and  allowed  her  to  bring  up  her 
brood  peacefully  in  her  own  way." 

How  did  this  duck  find  out  her  young  ?  I 
imagine  that  it  must  have  been  by  the  sense  of 
hearing.  Ducklings,  when  separated  from  their 
mother,  or  when  lost,  always  make  a  considerable 
outcry.  The  mother  duck  had  probably  heard 
them  crying,  had  gone  off  in  the  same  direction, 
and  when  she  got  near  the  poultry-yard  had 
been  directed  by  their  voices.  It  is,  moreover, 
evident  that  both  the  mother  and  the  children 
must  have  understood  each  other's  language,  as 
by  no  other  means  could  she  have  called  her 
young  brood  to  the  fence,  and  directed  them  to 


remain  there  while  she  pulled  them  through  one 
by  one. 

It  really  seems,  in  this  as  in  many  other  in- 
stances, as  if,  in  their  own  language,  the  animals 
had  names  known  to  themselves,  and  the  Robin, 
Dicky,  Flapsy,  and  Pecksy  of  fiction  to  be  not 
so  much  fictitious  as  we  might  fancy.  In  feed- 
ing their  young,  birds  always  take  them  in  their 
proper  turn,  and  how  they  can  do  so  without 
some  means  of  calling  them  by  name,  especially 
in  the  case  of  birds  which  hatch  many  eggs  in 
each  brood,  is  more  than  I  can  understand. 
Both  birds  and  animals  know  and  answer  to 
names  given  to  them  by  man  in  human  language, 
and  I  see  no  reason  why  they  should  not  equally 
know  and  answer  to  names  given  by  themselves 
in  their  own  language. 

I  may  here  mention  that  the  love  of  a  bird 
for  the  young  which  she  hatches  has  always 
been  somewhat  of  a  problem  to  me.  In  the 
case  of  the  mammalia,  there  is  no  difficulty  in 
understanding  that  the  mother  should  feel  love 
for  the  creature  who  is  absolutely  part  of  herself 
— whose  very  life-blood  is  drawn  from  her  veins. 
But  this  is  not  necessarily  the  case  with  birds. 
If,  as  it  often  happens  with  poultry,  the  eggs  of 
several  hens  are  placed  under  one  bird  for  hatch- 
ing, the  hen  who  hatches  them  knows  no  differ- 
ence between  tfye  chickens  that  proceed  from 
her  own  eggs  and  those  which  are  developed 
from  the  eggs  laid  by  others. 

This  curious  trait  of  character  holds  good 
even  where  the  eggs  belong  to  birds  of  different 
species.  Take,  for  example,  the  very  common 
instance  of  a  brood  of  ducklings  being  hatched 
and  reared  by  a  barn-door  hen.  The  hen  dis- 
plays as  much  affection  for  the  young  ducklings 
as  if  they  had  proceeded  from  her  own  eggs,  and 
this  in  spite  of  the  disparity  of  instinct  and  hab- 
it, which  becomes  stronger  in  proportion  to  the 
ducklings'  growth. 

May  it  not  be  that  parental  love  may  have 
different  channels  of  transmission,  and  that  in 
such  a  case  as  this  the  emanation  from  the  sit- 
ting hen  may  be  the  vehicle  of  parental  love  to- 
ward the  young  which  are  to  be  hatched  ?  Cer- 
tain it  is  to  those  who  observe  that  a  sitting  hen 
is  altogether  a  changed  being,  both  in  attitude 
and  expression.  She  is  entirely  absorbed  in  the 
eggs  which  she  is  incubating,  and,  though  she 
may  not  have  intellect  enough  to  distinguish  a 
plaster  of-paris  imitation  or  a  mere  lump  of 
chalk  from  one  of  her  own  eggs,  love  is  inde- 
pendent of  intellect,  and  may  exist  in  all  its 
strength,  though  it  may  be  wasted  on  an  un- 
worthy object. 


184 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


As  I  have  already  remarked,  under  the  head- 
ing of  "Conjugal  Love,"  fishes  are  not  partic- 
ularly emotional  beings,  and  are  not  likely  to 
entertain  a  lasting  love  for  any  thing.  Indeed, 
in  some  cases  parental  love  would  be  absolutely 
useless,  as  in  the  case  of  the  cod-fish,  which  could 
hardly  be  expected  to  entertain  a  special  love 
for  each  of  the  countless  thousands  of  young 
which  it  produces  every  year.  At  least,  if  such 
were  the  lot  of  the  mother,  her  life  would  be 
any  thing  but  enviable,  considering  the  varied  foes 
that  beset  her  eggs  as  soon  as  they  are  produced, 
and  her  young  as  soon  as  they  are  hatched. 

Just,  however,  as  there  are  fishes  which  pos- 
sess conjugal  love,  so  there  are  fishes  which  pos- 
sess parental  love,  and  the  chief  of  these  is  the 
stickleback.  Many  accounts  have  been  written 
of  the  proceedings  of  this  remarkable  fish,  but 
the  best  that  I  have  seen  was  written  by  the  late 
J.  KeastLord,  in  his  "  Naturalist  in  British  Co- 
lumbia." And  the  curious  point  is  that  parent- 
al love  in  the  case  of  the  stickleback  belongs 
to  the  father,  and  not  to  the  mother.  Indeed, 
as  there  is  one  father  and  a  considerable  number 
of  mothers,  it  is  the  only  arrangement  that  could 
be  made. 

Inverting  the  usual  order  of  things,  the  whole 
labor  of  providing  for  the  young,  which  is  very 
considerable,  devolves  upon  the  male,  the  female 
doing  nothing  except  lay  her  eggs,  and  let  the 
male  look  after  them. 

Mr.  Lord's  description  of  his  proceedings  must 
be  given  in  his  own  words  : 

"I  have  often,  when  tired,  lain  down  on  the 
bank  of  a  stream  beneath  the  friendly  shade  of 
some  leafy  tree,  and,  gazing  into  its  depths, 
watched  the  sticklebacks  either  guarding  their 
nests  already  built  or  busy  in  their  construction. 
The  site  is  generally  among  the  stems  of  aquatic 
plants,  where  the  water  always  flows,  but  not 
too  swiftly.  He  first  begins  by  carrying  small 
bits  of  green  material,  which  he  nips  off  the 
stalks,  and  tugs  from  out  of  the  bottom  and  sides 
of  the  banks.  These  he  attaches  by  some  gluti- 
nous material,  that  he  clearly  has  the  power  of 
secreting,  to  the  different  stems  destined  as  pil- 
lars for  his  building. 

"During  this  operation  he  swims  against  the 
work  already  done,  splashes  about,  and  seems 
to  test  its  durability  and  strength  ;  rubs  himself 
against  the  tiny  kind  of  platform,  scrapes  the 
slimy  mucus  from  his  sides  to  mix  with  and  act 
as  mortar  for  his  vegetable  bricks.  Then  he 
thrusts  his  nose  into  the  sand  at  the  bottom, 
and,  bringing  a  mouthful,  scatters  it  over  the 
foundation.  This  is  repeated  until  enough  has 
been  thrown  on  to  weight  the  slender  fabric 


down,  and  give  it  substance  and  stability.  Then 
more  twists,  turns,  and  splashings,to  test  the  firm 
adherence  of  all  the  materials  that  are  intended 
to  constitute  the  foundation  of  the  house  that 
has  yet  to  be  erected  on  it. 

"  The  nest,  or  nursery,  when  completed,  is  a 
hollow,  somewhat  rounded,  barrel-shaped  struct- 
ure, worked  together  much  in  the  same  way  as 
the  platform  fastened  to  the  water-plants  ;  the 
whole  firmly  glued  together  by  the  viscous  se- 
cretion scraped  from  the  body.  The  inside  is 
made  as  smooth  as  possible  by  a  kind  of  plaster- 
ing system  ;  the  little  architect  continually  goes 
in,  then,  turning  round  and  round,  works  the 
mucus  from  his  body  onto  the  inner  sides  of  the 
nest,  where  it  hardens  like  a  tough  varnish. 
There  are  two  apertures,  smooth  and  symmet- 
rical as  the  hole  leading  into  a  wren's  nest,  and 
not  unlike  it." 

I  have  seen  plenty  of  these  little  nests,  and  al- 
ways regretted  the  extreme  difficulty  of  preserv- 
ing such  beautiful  specimens  of  fish-architecture. 
Unfortunately,  although  they  answer  very  well  as 
long  as  they  are  under  water,  they  do  not  hold 
together  when  removed  into  the  air,  the  peculiar 
cement  not  being  sufficiently  strong  to  bear  the 
unsupported  weight  of  the  materials. 

Having  thus  prepared  his  house,  the  fish  sets 
off  in  search  of  a  partner  to  grace  it.  This  she 
does  but  for  a  very  short  time,  simply  passing  in 
at  one  aperture  and  out  at  the  other,  remaining 
some  five  minutes  in  the  nest,  and  during  that 
time  depositing  her  eggs.  Having  finished,  she 
passes  out,  followed  by  the  male,  who  goes  and 
brings  another  female,  and  repeats  this  process 
until  the  nest  is  furnished  with  as  many  eggs  as 
it  can  hold. 

He  then  places  himself  on  guard,  and  watches 
his  treasure  as  vigilantly  and  fiercely  as  a  tigress 
watches  her  cubs.  He  often  has  to  fight  hard 
battles,  for  there  is  no  delicacy  so  loved  by  fish 
as  the  roe  of  other  fish,  even  of  their  own  species; 
and  the  nest  is  sure  to  be  beset  by  sticklebacks 
or  other  fish,  and  water-beetles,  trying  to  get  at 
the  eggs.  For  some  six  weeks  he  keeps  this 
anxious  watch,  and  even  when  the  young  are 
hatched  he  does  not  desert  his  post.  It  is  said 
that  he  will  not  allow  them  to  wander  far  from 
the  nest,  and  that  if  one  of  them  should  stray  be- 
yond certain  limits,  he  will  seize  it  and  bring  it 
back  again. 

In  the  encounters  which  he  has  to  undertake 
he  runs  much  risk  of  losing  his  life,  for  the  sharp 
spines  with  which  the  body  is  armed  are  weapons 
which  can  be  used  with  fatal  dexterity.  Each 
fish  tries  to  force  its  way  under  the  other,  and, 
if  it  can  succeed,  rises  rapidly,  and  drives  the 


PARENTAL  LOVE. 


135 


spines  into  the  sides  or  belly  of  its  adversary, 
often  causing  its  death,  and  always  wounding  it 
seriously.  Even  in  fishes,  then,  we  see  parental 
love  sufficiently  developed  to  induce  the  male 
stickleback  to  remain  for  six  weeks  on  guard,  to 
fight  any  foe  that  may  attempt  to  rob  him  of  his 
treasure,  and  to  risk  and  sometimes  to  lose  his 
life  in  the  defense  of  his  offspring. 

The  reader  will  not  fail  to  have  noted  the  cu- 
rious fact  that,  whereas  parental  love  is,  in  near- 
ly all  creatures,  chiefly  manifested  in  the  moth- 
er, in  this  case  the  mother  never  troubles  herself 
about  the  fate  of  the  eggs  which  she  has'  depos- 
ited, but  leaves  them  all  to  the  father.  Neither 
does  she  take  any  share  in  the  preparation  of 
the  nest,  the  whole  of  the  labor  belonging  to  the 
male,  who  has  to  gather  materials,  make  the  nest, 
get  it  stocked  with  eggs,  guard  it  at  the  risk  of 
his  life,  and  see  the  young  safely  started  in  life. 
The  human  parallel  is  too  obvious  to  need  men- 
tion. 

There  are  other  fishes  in  which  the  male  takes 
the  chief  part  in  the  incubation  of  the  eggs. 
Such,  for  example,  are  the  curious  Lophobran- 
chiate  fishes,  of  which  the  common  bill-fish,  or 
pipe-fish,  and  the  quaint  little  sea-horse  are  good 
examples.  The  former,  by  the  way,  is  much 
more  plentiful  than  is  generally  supposed,  and  I 
have  found  many  of  them  served  up  among  the 
tiny  fishes  which  are  called  by  the  general  name 
of  whitebait.  In  all  these  fishes  the  males  are 
provided  with  some  special  apparatus,  such  as  a 
pouch,  a  double  ridge  of  skin,  etc.,  by  means  of 
which  the  eggs  are  attached  to  the  body  of  the 
male  until  they  are  hatched. 

Then  there  are  certain  birds,  mostly  belonging 
to  the  Cursoria,  or  that  group  of  which  the  os- 
trich is  the  type,  the  females  of  which  take  no 
trouble  about  their  eggs  after  laying  them,  but 
depute  the  whole  of  that  business  to  their  mates. 

An  instance  where  a  spider  defended  its  eggs 
against  most  formidable  enemies  is  narrated  by 
Mr.  F.  0.  Eawlins  in  Hardwicke's  Science  Gos- 
sip for  April,  1873. 

In  a  recent  number  I  saw  some  interesting 
matter  relative  to  spiders  and  their  poisoning 
apparatus.  The  following,  which  comes  from 
personal  observation,  will  vouch  for  the  efficacy 
of  this  apparatus,  and  also  show  what  a  weapon 
of  defense  it  becomes  when  the  parental  instinct 
is  roused  by  an  attack  upon  the  offspring  : 

"One  day  in  the  autumn  I  captured  a  fine 


specimen  of  the  garden  spider  (Epdra  diadeina), 
which  was  running  over  a  flower  border,  skillfully 
conveying  the  precious  filmy  bag  of  eggs  under- 
neath its  body  over  the  various  obstacles  which 
impeded  its  progress.  It  did  not  seem  averse  to 
the  shelter  afforded  by  a  small  wooden  box,  and 
remained  at  one  end  with  its  treasure  so  content- 
edly that  I  left  it  for  a  few  moments,  and  placed 
it  on  the  top  of  a  dahlia-pole. 

"  On  returning  I  discovered  that  an  exploring 
party,  consisting  of  four  ants,  was  scaling  the 
walls  of  the  fortress.  Until  they  were  fairly 
within  its  walls  the  spider  seemed  unaware  of 
their  approach ;  and,  in  fact,  until  a  forcible  at- 
tempt was  made  by  the  intruders  to  grapple  with 
the  egg-bag,  it  remained  strangely  apathetic. 
But  this  insult  offered  to  the  helpless  young  was 
too  much.  It  darted  forward  and  assailed  the 
foremost.  It  was  a  tough  fight — four  to  one — 
but  the  valiant  mother  conquered  in  the  end ; 
for  three  of  the  invading  foe  lay  dead  (evidently 
poisoned  by  a  venomous  bite),  and  the  fourth  was 
fairly  driven  off".  The  victor  then  retired  with 
her  insulted  property  to  a  corner,  and  I  carried 
off  the  box. 

"An  untimely  escape  prevented  an  experi- 
ment I  hoped  to  make,  viz.,  of  trying  to  tame 
this  member  of  the  usually  disliked  Arachnida 
family." 

It  would  have  been  easy  enough  to  fill  the 
whole  of  the  book  with  stories  of  true  parental 
love  among  the  lower  animals,  but  I  have  select- 
ed these  in  order  to  show  that  the  feeling  is  iden- 
tical in  man  and  the  lower  animals,  although,  of 
course,  the  mode  of  manifesting  it  must  differ. 
First,  we  see  the  untruth  of  the  theory  that  pa- 
rental love  is  life-enduring  in  man  and  only  brief 
among  the  animals.  We  see  that,  in  proportion 
to  the  duration  of  life,  it  is  quite  as  brief  among 
the  savages  as  among  the  animals.  Then  we  have 
examples  where  parental  love  has  been  lost  and 
then  restored,  and  also  where  it  never  was  lost. 

We  see  how,  in  the  animals  as  well  as  in  man,, 
parental  love  causes  complete  abnegation  of  self,, 
the  parents  living  for  their  children,  and  not  for 
themselves.  We  see  how  it  gives  strength  to 
the  weak  and  courage  to  the  timid ;  that  even 
the  very  fishes  and  the  spiders  are  amenable  to 
the  same  influences  as  man,  and  that  parental 
love,  one  of  the  highest  and  holiest  feelings  of 
which  a  living  and  immortal  soul  can  be  capa- 
ble, is  shared  equally  by  man  and  beast,  accord- 
ing to  their  respective  capacities. 


136 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 
THE  FUTURE   STATE. 

Immortality  of  Man  as  Treated  in  the  Old  Testament.— The  Lower  Animals  not  Thought  Unworthy  of  a  Di- 
vine Law. — Man  and  Beast  Equally  Liable  to  Punishment  for  the  Same  Crime. — Instinctive  Belief  in  Im- 
mortality.—The  Spirit  of  Animals  Developed  by  Communion  with  the  Spirit  of  Man.— Opinions  of  Various 
Writers  on  the  Subject.— Eugenie  de  Guerin  and  Mrs.  Somerville.— The  Contemplative  and  Logical  Minds. 
— Southey's  Epitaph  on  his  Dog. — Lamartine  on  a  Similar  Subject. — The  Doctrine  of  Apparent  Inequality 
and  Compensation.— How  to  Reconcile  Pain  and  Suffering  with  Divine  Justice.— The  Different  Lots  of  Man 
and  Beast.— The  Object  of  Suffering.— Individuality  connected  with  Immortality.— Individuality  often 
Overlooked,  even  though  it  be  Strongly  Marked  to  those  who  can  Detect  it. — The  Groom  and  the  Engine- 
driver.— Individuality  Retained  in  the  Next  World,  and  Developed  there.— Mr.  J.  Nelson  Smith  on  a  Dead 
Lion. — The  Spirit  of  the  Beast ;  Comparison  with  that  of  Man. — Death  and  its  Results  in  Man  and  Beast. 
—Spirit  and  Matter.— The  Dead  and  the  Living.— The  Spiritual  and  Material  Eye.— The  Story  of  Balaam. 
—The  Cat  and  the  Apparition.— Parallel  of  the  Two  Narratives.— Epilogue. 


I  HAVE  already  shown,  at  the  beginning  of  this 
work,  that,  contrary  to  the  popular  tradition, 
the  Scriptures  do  not  deny  a  future  life  to  the 
lower  animals.  We  will  now  see  if  Scripture 
has  any  thing  to  say  in  favor  of  another  world 
for  beast  as  well  as  man. 

It  is  a  very  remarkable  point  that  even  as  to 
the  immortality  of  man,  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  Testament  teach  that  doctrine  rather  by  in- 
ference than  by  direct  assertion. 

I  presume  the  reason  to  be  that  the  writers  of 
the  various  books,  which  were  at  a  comparative- 
ly late  period  selected  from  among  many  others 
and  formed  into  the  volume  which  we  popularly 
call  the  Bible,  assumed  as  a  matter  of  course  that 
man  was  immortal,  and  did  not  trouble  them- 
selves to  assert  that  which  they  supposed  every 
one  to  know  already. 

As  far  as  the  Old  Testament  goes,  inference 
tells  much  stronger  in  favor  of  the  beast's  im- 
mortality than  in  that  of  man ;  for  although  in 
either  case  there  is  no  definite  assertion  of  a  fut- 
ure life,  there  is  at  all  events  no  such  denial  of 
the  immortality  of  the  beast  as  we  have  seen  to 
be  the  case  with  man  (see  page  1 0). 

We  all  know  that  the  beasts  were  included  in 
the  merciful  provisions  of  the  Sabbath,  which 
was  in  its  essence  a  spiritual  and  not  merely  a 
physical  ordinance.  Then  we  find  in  the  an- 
cient Scriptures  many  provisions  against  mal- 
treating the  lower  animals,  or  giving  them  need- 
less pain  ;  and  these  provisions  occupy  an  equal 
place  in  the  Divine  Law  with  those  which  treat 
of  man. 

See,  for  example,  the  well-known  prohibition 


of  "  seething  a  kid  in  its  mother's  milk,"  this  be- 
ing apparently  some  cruel  heathen  custom  dur- 
ing harvest-tide.  Then  the  ox  which  is  used  in 
treading  out  the  com  is  not  to  be  muzzled,  lest 
it  should  suffer  the  pangs  of  hunger  in  the  pres- 
ence of  the  food  which  it  may  not  eat.  Even 
such  a  trivial  custom  as  bird's-nesting  is  regu- 
lated by  Divine  Law  (see  Deut.  xxii.  6,  7).  As, 
moreover,  many  animals  must  be  killed  daily, 
some  for  sacrifice  and  others  only  for  food,  the 
strictest  regulations  are  given  that  their  mode 
of  death  shall  be  sharp  and  swift,  and  that  the 
whole  of  their  blood  shall  be  poured  out  upon 
the  earth,  thus  preventing  them  from  lingering 
in  pain. 

I  need  scarcely  refer  to  the  last  few  sentences 
of  the  Book  of  Jonah : 

"Thou  hast  had  pity  on  the  gourd,  for  the 
which  thou  hast  not  labored,  neither  madest  it 
grow ;  which  came  up  in  a  night,  and  perished 
in  a  night : 

"And  should  I  not  spare  Nineveh,  that  great 
city,  wherein  are  more  than  sixscore  thousand 
persons  that  can  not  discern  between  their  right 
hand  and  their  left  hand ;  and  also  much  cattle?" 

Again,  see  Psalm  1.  10, 11 : 

"Every  beast  of  the  forest  is  mine,  and  the 
cattle  upon  a  thousand  hills. 

"  I  know  all  the  fowls  of  the  mountains :  and 
the  wild  beasts  of  the  field  are  mine." 

The  Scriptures  are  full  of  similar  passages,  in 
which  God  announces  himself  as  the  protector 
of  beast  as  well  as  of  man ;  among  which  we 
may  reckon  the  well-known  saying  of  our  Lord 
respecting  the  lives  of  the  sparrows. 


THE  FUTURE  STATE. 


137 


Allusion  to  this  branch  of  the  subject  is  made 
by  Cowper  in  his  "  Task  :" 

"Man  may  dismiss  compassion  from  his  heart, 
But  God  will  never.    When  He  charged  the  Jew 
To  assist  his  foe's  down-fallen  beast  to  rise ; 
And  when  the  bush-exploring  boy,  that  seized 
The  young,  to  let  the  parent-bird  go  free ; 
Proved  He  not  plainly  that  His  meaner  works 
Are  yet  His  care,  and  have  an  interest  all — 
All  in  the  universal  Father's  love." 

COWPEE'S  Task. 

There  is,  however,  one  passage  which  certain- 
ly does  seem  to  point  to  a  future  for  the  beast 
as  well  as  for  man,  and  does  at  all  events  place 
them  both  on  a  similar  level.  It  occurs  in  Gene- 
sis ix.  5,  and  forms  part  of  the  concise  law  which 
was  delivered  to  Noah,  and  which  was  the  fore- 
runner of  the  fuller  law  afterward  given  through 
Moses  :  * '  Surely  your  blood  of  your  lives  will  I 
require  :  at  the  hand  of  every  beast  will  I  require 
it,  and  at  the  hand  of  every  man ;  at  the  hand 
of  every  man's  brother  will  I  require  the  life  of 
man." 

And  this  injunction  was  afterward  incorpo- 
rated into  the  Mosaic  law,  where  an  ox  who 
kills  a  man  is  subject  to  death,  just  as  if  it  had 
been  a  man  who  had  murdered  one  of  his  fellows 
(see  Exodus  xxi.  28). 

As  a  writer  in  the  London  Review  well  said, 
some  years  ago  :  "There  would  be  no  meaning 
in  this  retribution  if  the  animal  had  no  living 
soul  to  be  forfeited,  as  the  human  soul  had  been 
yielded  to  death.  It  would  be  absurd  to  destroy 
a  vegetable  which  had  caused  the  death  of  a  hu- 
man being,  inasmuch  as  it  has  no  soul.  It  was 
not  considered  absurd  to  destroy  an  animal  un- 
der such  circumstances,  inasmuch  as  it  has  a 
soul." 

Thus,  while  there  are  no  passages  of  Scripture 
which  deny  the  immortality  of  the  lower  animals, 
there  are  some  which  certainly  tend  toward  in- 
ferring it ;  but  I  do  not  see  how  we  could  expect 
to  gain  any  information  on  the  subject  from  the 
Scriptures,  which  were  written  for  human  beings, 
and  not  for  the  lower  animals ;  and,  as  we  find 
so  few  direct  references  to  the  future  state  of 
man,  we  could  hardly  expect  to  receive  direct 
instruction  upon  that  of  beasts. 

But  just  as  man  has  always  had  within  him- 
self an  intuitive  witness  to  his  own  immortality, 
so  do  I  find  that  all  who  have  watched  the  ways 
of  the  lower  animals  have  possessed  an  instinct- 
ive sense  that  they  too  must  have  a  future  life. 
Some,  it  is  true,  have  been  led  away  by  a  wrong 
interpretation  of  the  passages  in  the  Psalms,  Job, 
and  Ecclesiastes ;  but,  in  conversing  with  them, 
I  have  always  found  that  underlying  this  idea  is 
a  feeling  that  animals,  which  surpass  many  hu- 


man beings  in  love,  unselfishness,  generosity, 
conscience,  and  self-sacrifice,  must  share,  togeth- 
er with  those  virtues,  an  immortal  spirit  in  which 
they  take  their  rise. 

For  myself,  I  attribute  to  the  conduct  of  my 
dog  "Rory"my  firm  conviction  that  for  such 
animals  a  future  life  must  be  in  store ;  and  if  for 
him,  why  not  for  all  ?  It  is  true  that  in  him  the 
moral  sense  of  duty  was  developed  to  a  very  high 
degree,  as  were  his  reasoning  powers  and  the 
faculty  of  love.  I  could  not  believe  that  an  ani- 
mal which  would  die  of  grief,  as  he  died,  for  the 
absence  of  his  master,  could  have  his  existence 
limited  to  this  present  world,  and  that  such  in- 
tensity of  love  should  terminate  at  the  same  mo- 
ment that  the  material  heart  ceased  to  beat. 

But,  though  in  his  case  these  higher  qualities 
were  so  greatly  developed  by  constant  communion 
with  a  human  spirit,  there  are  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands of  dogs  with  similar  capabilities,  but  without 
similar  advantages.  I  feel  sure  that  they  will 
have  the  opportunity  of  developing  their  latent 
faculties  in  the  next  world,  though  their  free 
scope  has  been  denied  to  them  in  the  short  time 
of  their  existence  in  this  present  world. 

I  have  been  rather  surprised  to  find  how  many 
standard  writers  have  held  these  opinions.  All 
students  of  theology  are  acquainted  with  the  pas- 
sage in  Bishop  Butler's  "Analogy"  in  which  he 
states  that  the  Scriptures  give  no  reasons  why 
the  lower  animals  should  not  possess  immortal 
souls.  I  will  now  take  passages  by  two  very  cel- 
ebrated women,  the  former  a  representative  of 
devotional  religion,  and  the  latter  a  thorough 
mistress  of  the  physical  sciences,  and  a  deep 
mathematician. 

The  first  extract  is  taken  from  the  "Diary" 
of  Eugenie  de  Guerin,  and  is  a  remarkable  in- 
stance of  the  manner  in  which  the  contempla- 
tive human  soul  yearns  after  companionship  with 
the  souls  of  fellow-creatures  that  have  been  loved 
and  have  passed  away: 

"  1st  August,  1835. — This  evening  my  turtle- 
dove has  died ;  I  know  not  from  what  cause,  for 
it  continued  to  coo  up  to  to-day.  Poor  little 
creature,  what  regret  it  causes  me !  I  loved  it ; 
it  was  white ;  and  every  morning  it  was  the  first 
voice  I  heard  under  my  window,  in  winter  as 
well  as  in  summer.  Was  it  mourning  or  joy  ? 
I  know  not,  but  its  songs  gave  me  pleasure. 
Now  I  have  a  pleasure  the  less :  thus  each  day 
we  lose  some  enjoyment. 

"  I  mean  to  put  my  dove  under  a  rose-bush  on 
the  terrace :  it  seems  to  me  that  it  will  be  well 
there,  and  that  its  soul  (if  soul  there  be)  will  re- 
pose there  sweetly  in  that  nest  beneath  the  flowers. 
I  have  a  tolerably  strong  belief  in  the  souls  of 


138 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


animals,  and  T  should  even  like  there  to  be  a  little 
paradise  for  the  good  and  gentle,  like  turtle-doves, 
dogs,  and  lambs.  But  what  to  do  with  wolves  and 
other  wicked  minds  ?  To  damn  them  ? — that  em- 
barrasses me." 

She  might  have  reflected  that,  in  its  place,  the 
wolf  is  as  useful  and  as  innocent  as  the  lamb.  It 
has  an  object  in  life,  and  carries  it  out  until  that 
object  be  attained,  when  it  perishes,  as  has  been 
the  case  in  our  own  country,  not  only  with  the 
wolf,  but  with  the  bear  and  other  predacious  ani- 
mals. 

The  next  passage  is  taken  from  Mrs.  Somer- 
ville's  "Memoirs."  I  have  selected  these  two 
because  they  represent  two  differently  constituted 
minds,  which  yet  agree  just  on  the  very  subject 
where  one  would  have  expected  the  greatest  di- 
vergence. 

The  one  is  essentially  devotional,  trusting  to 
intuitive  ideas,  and  not  having  the  least  pretense 
to  logic,  or  even  a  sequence  of  reasoning.  The 
other  is  a  mind  trained  to  observation,  to  mathe- 
matical accuracy,  to  hard  reasoning,  and  to  that 
faculty  which  is  so  seldom  seen  in  the  female  sex 
— namely,  the  power  of  generalization.  Speaking 
of  death,  and  the  accompanying  change  of  sur- 
rounding objects,  Mrs.  Somerville,  then  aged 
eighty-nine,  proceeds  as  follows: 

"I  shall  regret  the  sky,  the  sea,  with  all  the 
changes  of  their  beautiful  coloring ;  the  earth,  with 
its  verdure  and  flowers  ;  but  far  more  shall  I 
grieve  to  leave  animals  who  have  followed  our 
steps  affectionately  for  years,  without  knowing 
for  certainty  their  ultimate  fate,  though  I  firm- 
ly believe  that  the  living  principle  is  never  ex- 
tinguished. Since  the  atoms  of  matter  are  inde- 
structible, as  far  as  we  know,  it  is  difficult  to  be- 
lieve that  the  spark  which  gives  to  their  union 
life,  memory,  affection,  intelligence,  and  fidelity 
is  evanescent. 

"  Every  atom  in  the  human  frame,  as  well  as 
in  that  of  animals,  undergoes  a  periodical  change 
by  continual  waste  and  renovation  :  the  abode  is 
changed,  not  its  inhabitant.  If  animals  have  no 
future,  the  existence  of  many  is  most  wretched. 
Multitudes  are  starved,  cruelly  beaten,  and  load- 
ed during  life  ;  many  die  under  a  barbarous  vivi- 
section. 

"  I  can  not  believe  that  any  creature  was  cre- 
ated for  uncompensated  misery  :  it  would  be  con- 
trary to  the  attribute  of  God's  mercy  and  justice. 
I  am  sincerely  happy  to  find  that  I  am  not  the 
only  believer  in  the  immortality  of  the  lower  ani- 
mals." 

We  will  presently  revert  to  the  latter  part  of 
this  interesting  letter.  I  can  not  but  notice  the 
remarkable  fact  that  two  minds  so  differently  con- 


stituted should  have  arrived  at  the  same  result  in 
two  different  ways.  The  one  does  not  pretend 
to  any  process  of  reason,  but  passes  at  once,/>er 
saltum  as  it  were,  to  the  firm  belief  that  the  low- 
er animals  must  have  a  future  life.  The  other 
works  her  way  to  the  same  point  through  a  con- 
secutive train  of  reasoning,  basing  her  arguments 
upon  physical  facts  of  which  Madame  de  Guerin 
was  entirely  ignorant.  We  instinctively  agree  with 
the  one,  and  we  can  not  disagree  with  the  other. 

Having  now  seen  the  manner  in  which  the  con- 
templative and  logical  female  minds  treat  this 
subject,  let  us  turn  to  the  masculine  mind.  We 
will  take  for  example  Southey,  a  man  of  singu- 
larly deep  and  wide  reading,  possessed  of  the  ex- 
ceptional gift  of  rendering  poetical  the  least  beau- 
tiful of  subjects.  If  ever  there  were  a  clumsy  and 
repulsive  idealization  in  the  world,  it  may  be  found 
in  the  many-headed  and  many-armed  deities  of 
Hindoo  mythology ;  and  yet,  in  the  hands  of 
Southey,  they  are  invested  with  a  glamour  like  that 
which  Scott  threw  over  the  most  prosaic  and  com- 
monplace of  landscapes  in  his  native  land. 

Writing  of  the  death  of  a  favorite  spaniel  who 
had  been  his  companion  in  boyhood,  Southey  pro- 
ceeds as  follows : 

"Ah,  poor  companion !  when  thou  followedst  last 
Thy  master's  parting  footsteps  to  the  gate 
Which  closed  forever  on  him,  thou  didst  lose 
Thy  best  friend,  and  none  was  left  to  plead 
For  the  old  age  of  brute  fidelity. 
But  fare  thee  well.    Mine  is  no  narrow  creed ; 
And  He  who  gave  thee  being  did  not  frame 
The  mystery  of  Life  to  be  the  sport 
Of  merciless  man.    There  is  another  world 
For  all  that  live  and  move — a  better  one  ! 
Where  the  proud  bipeds,  who  would  fain  confine 
Infinite  goodness  to  the  little  bounds 
Of  their  own  charity,  may  envy  thee." 

The  following  extract  is  taken  from  "  Jocelyn's 
Episode,  par  A.  de  Lamartine,"and  is  translated 
by  the  author  of  "  Episodes  of  Insect  Life  :" 

"My  dog!  the  difference  between  thee  and  me 
Knows  only  our  Creator ; — only  He 
Can  number  the  degrees  in  being's  scale 
Between  thy  instinctive  lamp,  ne'er  known  to  fail, 
And  that  less  steady  light  of  brighter  ray, 
The  soul  which  animates  thy  master's  clay  ; 
And  He  alone  can  tell  by  what  fond  tie, 
My  look  thy  life— my  death,  thy  sign  to  die. 
Howe'er  this  be,  the  human  heart  bereaved, 
In  thy  affection  owns  a  boon  received  ; 
Nor  e'er,  fond  creature,  prostrate  on  the  ground, 
Conld  my  foot  spurn  thee  or  my  accents  wound. 
No  !  never,  never,  my  poor  humble  friend, 
Could  I  by  act  or  word  thy  love  often  d ! 
Too  much  in  thee  I  reverence  that  Power 
Which  formed  us  both  for  our  appointed  hour; 
That  Hand  which  links,  by  a  fraternal  tie, 
The  meanest  of  His  creatures  with  the  high. 
Oh,  my  poor  Fido  !  when  thy  speaking  face, 
Upturned  to  mine,  of  words  supplies  the  place ; 


THE  FUTURE  8TA 


When,  seated  by  my  bed,  the  slightest  moan 

That  breaks  my  troubled  sleep  disturbs  thine  own ; 

When  noting  in  my  heavy  eye  the  care 

That  clouds  my  brow,  thou  seek'st  its  meaning  there. 

And  then,  as  if  to  chase  that  care  away, 

My  pendant  hand  dost  gently  gnaw  in  play  ; 

When,  as  in  some  clear  mirror,  I  descry 

My  joys  and  griefs  reflected  in  thine  eye : 

When  tokens  such  as  these  thy  reason  speak 

(Reason  which  with  thy  love  compared  is  weak), 

I  can  not,  will  not,  deem  thee  a  deceiving, 

Illusive  mockery  of  human  feeling, 

A  body  organized,  by  fond  caress 

Warmed  into  seeming  tenderness ; 

A  mere  automaton,  on  which  our  love 

Plays,  as  on  puppets,  when  their  wires  we  move. 

No  !  when  that  feeling  quits  thy  glazing  eye, 

'  Twill  live  in  some  blest  world  beyond  the  sky. 

******* 
No !  God  will  never  quench  His  spark  divine, 
Whether  within  some  glorious  orb  it  shine, 
Or  lighten  up  the  spaniel's  tender  gaze, 
Who  leads  his  poor  blind  master  through  the  maze 
Of  this  dark  world ;  and,  when  that  task  is  o'er, 
Sleeps  on  his  humble  grave,  to  wake  no  more." 

We  will  now  revert  for  a  time  to  the  subject 
mentioned  at  the  end  of  the  extract  from  Mrs. 
Somerville's  "Memoirs."  Everyone  must  at  some 
time  or  another  have  been  struck  with  the  prob- 
lem of  apparent  inequality  in  the  lives  both  of 
man  and  beast.  We  see  some  human  beings  en- 
dowed with  every  thing  that  man  can  desire — 
health,  strength,  wealth,  accomplishments,  and 
capacity  of  enjoyment ;  while  others  are  desti- 
tute of  all  these  accessories  to  happiness. 

Putting  aside  the  fact  that  some  whose  lots  seem 
to  he  the  most  enviable  are  the  least  to  be  envied, 
we  acknowledge  that  this  inequality  does  exist, 
and  that  the  earthly  lot  of  some  is  very  hard,  while 
that  of  others  is  very  easy.  But  we  are  taught 
in  the  New  Testament  the  great  doctrine  of  Com- 
pensation, which  is,  in  fact,  nothing  more  than 
justice. 

As  St.  Paul  remarks,  who  spoke  from  personal 
experience,  the  sufferings  of  this  present  world 
are  not  to  be  compared  with  the  glories  of  the 
world  to  come  ;  and  that,  in  fact,  suffering  is  the 
precursor  of  glory.  That  some  such  principle  of 
divine  justice  must  exist  was  instinctively  known 
long  before  it  was  thus  explicitly  declared.  We 
find  references  to  such  compensation  throughout 
the  Psalms,  in  passages  too  numerous  and  too  fa- 
miliar to  need  quotation  ;  and  even  Job  himself, 
sunk  in  the  very  depth  of  afflictions,  could  say. 
"Though  He  slay  me,  yet  will  I  trust  in  Him. 
...  He  also  shall  be  my  salvation  "  (Job  xiii. 
15,16). 

As  far,  therefore,  as  man  is  concerned,  the  prob- 
lem of  apparent  inequality  is  not  so  difficult  of 
solution.  Expectant  of  a  future  life,  we  look  for- 
ward to  it  in  our  worst  earthly  sorrows,  and  fee 


139 


that  when  we  h^aBiwrfnew  life  we 
shall  receive  our  reward.  Thus,  in  spite  of  all 
apparent  inequalities  of  the  human  lot  in  this 
world,  we  feel  that  divine  justice  will  be  more 
than  vindicated  in  the  world  to  come,  and  that 
when  we  enter  that  world  we  shall  understand 
and  acquiesce  in  the  justice  that  gave  a  hard  lot 
upon  earth  to  us  and  an  easy  one  to  others. 

But,  supposing  the  lower  animals  to  have  no  fut- 
ure life,  what  becomes  of  divine  justice  ?  Even 
in  our  own  country  and  in  our  own  day,  the  cruel- 
ties that  are  perpetrated  upon  animals  are  a  dis- 
grace to  the  nation.  Bad  as  they  are,  however, 
they  are  as  nothing  to  the  horrors  which  are  seen 
with  absolute  unconcern  in  other  countries.  But, 
even  in  our  own  land,  let  us  take  as  an  example  one 
of  the  most  ill  treated  of  animals — the  donkey. 

We  will  suppose  the  very  likely  case  of  two  don- 
keys of  the  same  age  and  similar  capacities  being 
sold  to  different  masters,  both  costermongers. 
One  of  them  treats  the  animal  with  kindness,  and 
the  other  with  cruelty.  The  one  urges  it  to  its 
work  by  kind  words,  the  other  by  blows  and  other 
forms  of  bodily  torture.  The  one  feeds  the  ani- 
mal as  liberally  as  his  means  will  afford,  while 
the  other  leaves  the  beast,  by  whose  labor  he  lives, 
to  forage  for  himself,  and  spends  in  drink  the  mon- 
ey which  ought  to  have  been  expended  in  fodder. 

One  of  these  animals  lives  a  long  and  a  happy 
life,  doing  his  work  with  eager  willingness,  loving 
his  master,  and  being  loved  by  him.  The  other 
is  soon  worn  out  by  hardships,  trembles  at  the 
very  sound  of  his  master's  voice,  and  succumbs 
at  last  to  pain  and  starvation.  I  have  purposely 
placed  the  more  favored  animal  in  a  laboring 
sphere  of  life,  because  I  am  sure  that  it  was  form- 
ed for  labor,  and  that  a  properly  directed  life  of 
work  is  far  happier  than  the  state  of  a  petted, 
pampered,  and  idle  animal. 

Now,  supposing  that  animals  have  no  immor- 
tal souls  and  no  future  life,  it  is  simply  impossi- 
ble to  recognize  that  the  Maker  of  these  two  ani- 
mals can  be  just.  The  two  contrasted  lives  indi- 
cate an  injustice  too  flagrant  for  any  human  being 
to  perpetrate  unless  wholly  deficient  in  ideas  of 
right  and  wrong.  But  supposing  them  to  possess 
immortal  souls,  and  a  future  life  in  which  those 
souls  shall  be  developed  to  the  fullest  amount  of 
their  capacities,  then  we  can  at  once  reconcile 
those  apparent  discrepancies  with  absolute  justice 
and  perfect  love.  Dealing  with  the  lower  ani- 
mals as  with  ourselves,  the  Creator  looks  to  the 
spiritual  world,  which  is  eternal,  and  not  to  the 
material  world,  which  is  temporal,  and  by  means 
of  the  one  instructs  and  prepares  his  pupils  for  the 
other. 

Take  the  most  prominent  instance  of  apparent 


140 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


inequality  and  injustice — namely,  poverty  and 
wealth.  We  are  gifted  with  wealth,  or  it  is 
withheld  from  us,  according  to  our  individual 
capacities.  That  which  is  good  for  one,  as  a 
preparation  for  the  future  life,  is  bad  for  another, 
and  it  is  given  or  withheld  accordingly.  For 
example,  we  all  know  that  when  our  Lord  met 
the  wealthy  young  man  who  was  proud  of  his 
riches,  and  yet  desired  to  be  a  disciple,  the  con- 
dition of  admission  was  that  he  should  divest 
himself  of  all  his  wealth,  and  divide  it  among 
the  poor. 

Many  persons  have  inferred  from  this  order 
that  no  one  ought  to  possess  wealth.  But  a 
little  reflection  will  show  that  the  order  in  ques- 
tion was  not  universal,  but  addressed  to  a  single 
individual,  and  to  no  other.  There  were  many 
rich  men  with  whom  Christ  habitually  associated, 
notably  Joseph  of  Arimathea,  and  yet  he  never 
advised  them  to  reduce  themselves  to  poverty. 

He  knew  best  what  was  good  for  each,  and 
a  fortiori  must  he  know  what  is  good  for  ani- 
mals which  exist  on  a  lower  and  more  contracted 
plane  than  man.  I  firmly  believe,  with  St.  Paul, 
that  the  object  of  suffering  in  this  present  world 
is  that  it  forms  a  preparation  and  introduction 
to  the  life  to  come ;  and  I  am  perfectly  convinced 
that  any  creature  which  is  capable  of  suffering 
has  in  that  very  capacity  its  passport  to  the  eternal 
life  for  which  its  sufferings  are  but  a  preparation. 

This  brings  us  to  another  stage  in  our  argu- 
ment— namely,  the  possession  of  Individuality  as 
connected  with  Immortality. 

As  for  ourselves,  did  we  not  possess  individu- 
ality we  should  need  no  diverseness  of  manage- 
ment, for  all  would  be  treated  alike.  But  we 
see  that  in  man  no  two  faces  are  exactly  alike, 
simply  because  no  two  souls,  of  which  the  coun- 
tenance is  an  indication,  are  alike  ;  and  the  same 
will  hold  good  among  the  lower  animals. 

Looking,  for  example,  at  a  flock  of  sheep, 
there  is  no  apparent  difference  between  them, 
and  a  portrait  of  any  one  would  equally  resemble 
any  other.  But  the  shepherd,  if  he  know  his 
business,  will  be  able  to  distinguish  every  sheep 
separately,  and  can  describe  the  mental  pecul- 
iarities of  each  individual. 

Again  :  one  yellow  canary  looks,  to  ordinary 
eyes,  just  like  another  yellow  canary,  while  in 
reality  the  mental  character  of  each  bird  is  im- 
pressed upon  its  countenance  as  strongly  as  are 
human  qualities  upon  the  visage  of  man.  I  once 
had  some  thirty  canaries  in  a  single  aviary,  and 
not  only  knew  them  all  by  sight,  but  could  an- 
ticipate how  each  bird  would  act  under  certain 
circumstances. 


It  is  this  quality,  both  in  man  and  beast,  that 
implies  a  separate  treatment  for  each  individual, 
and  becomes  a  plea  for  immortality.  That  I  am 
not  alone  in  this  idea  is  shown  by  the  following 
letter  from  a  correspondent : 

"The  difference  in  character  between  individu- 
als of  the  same  species  is  as  striking  as  the  dif- 
ferences among  men. 

"My  present  dog,  though  very  handsome,  is 
a  thorough  vulgarian  in  mind.  He  prefers  bad 
company,  lives  by  choice  in  the  kitchen,  is  rude 
and  unmannerly,  never  barks  at  a  beggar,  and 
delights  in  a  general  row  or  a  fight  over  a  bone. 

"My  former  dog,  'Nettle.'  was  a  perfect  aris- 
tocrat. Nothing  would  induce  him  to  consort 
with  vulgar  people,  to  enter  a  kitchen,  or  descend 
the  area  stairs..  He  perfectly  understood  the 
importance  attached  to  a  large  house  and  hand- 
some furniture.  When  we  were  traveling  in  the 
Highlands,  and  had  to  put  up  in  any  lodgings 
which  we  could  get,  Nettle  was  perfectly  miserable. 
I  remember  him  at  Ballater  persistently  rushing 
past  our  shabby  house  into  one  next  door,  which 
was  handsomely  furnished.  The  lady  in  occu- 
pation disliked  dogs  ;  so,  after  capturing  Nettle 
once  or  twice,  when  he  had  made  a  raid  upon 
our  neighbor's  premises,  we  had  to  watch  him 
when  we  neared  the  house,  and  bring  him  by 
force  into  our  mean  quarters.  At  last  we  se- 
cured handsome  lodgings ;  whereupon  Nettle's 
dignity  was  soothed,  and  he  never  mistook  his 
own  abode  any  more. 

"  These  things  seem  to  be  trifles,  but  it  is  the 
observation  of  such  apparent  trifles  in  every 
creature  which  I  have  been  able  to  watch  care- 
fully that  convinces  me  more  of  their  separate, 
individual,  spiritual  life  than  even  the  evidences 
of  great  intellect  that  are  occasionally  given. 
Were  the  beasts  but  mere  animated  machines, 
these  distinctive  characteristics  need  not  exist." 

I  may  here  mention  that  my  own  cat  "  Pret  " 
was  equally  aristocratic  in  his  notions.  Nothing 
would  induce  him — not  even  milk  when  he  was 
hungry — to  put  his  head  into  the  kitchen,  or  to 
enter  the  house  by  the  servants'  door. 

To  me,  the  manner  in  which  we  ignore  indi- 
viduality in  the  lower  animals  is  simply  astound- 
ing. See,  for  example,  how  the  generality  of 
grooms  treat  all  horses  as  if  they  were  just  so 
many  machines  turned  out  of  the  same  mould, 
and  to  be  treated  just  like  machines.  The  "  Go 
ahead,"  "Stop  her,"  "Back  her,"  of  the  engi- 
neer are  represented  by  the  whip  or  spur  of  the 
groom,  the  jerk  or  savage  pull  at  the  bridle ; 
and  the  groom  has  no  more  idea  that  he  is  in- 
flicting pain  upon  the  senses  of  an  immortal  fel- 
low-creature than  has  the  engineer  of  hurting 


THE  FUTURE  STATE. 


141 


the  iron  and  brass  of  his  engine.  Indeed,  I  fear 
that,  as  a  rule,  the  average  driver  is  more  merci- 
ful to  his  engine  than  the  average  groom  to  his 
horse,  the  former  sparing  it  at  the  descents,  and 
helping  it  up  the  ascents  by  the  accumulated  force 
obtained  by  the  rush  down  the  preceding  decline. 

We  have  thus  in  every  species  a  double  kind 
of  individuality  :  first  there  is  one  that  is  com- 
mon to  the  entire  species,  and  next  there  is  one 
that,  in  addition  to  this  common  characteristic, 
distinguishes  each  separate  being  from  its  fellows. 
It  is  the  former  of  these  which  makes  a  species 
to  be  what  it  is,  and  I  am  firmly  convinced  that 
neither  is  lost  in  the  future  life — that  both  may 
be  capable  of  development.  Thus,  I  hold  that 
the  dog,  the  horse,  the  lion,  and  the  elephant 
will  be  in  the  next  world  what  they  are  in  this. 
They  will  be  better  animals  in  that  world,  just 
as  we  hope  to  be  better  men ;  but  they  will  not 
approach  us  any  nearer  than  they  do  at  present. 

I  will  here  quote  an  eloquent  passage  from  a 
very  remarkable  book,  which  is  nearly  unknown 
— namely,  "The  Science  of  Sensibility,"  by  Mr. 
J.  Nelson  Smith  : 

"Behold  the  lion,  when  he  comes  forth  from 
his  den  to  seize  the  prey  which  his  own  wants 
and  those  of  his  whelps  demand,  with  flowing 
mane,  steadfast  purpose,  and  paralyzing  gleam 
of  eye.  ...  If  the  voice  of  lightning  is  fuller  in 
its  volume  as  it  peals  over  the  plains,  the  vibrat- 
ing death-knell  of  the  lion  is  more  appalling  to 
both  man  and  beast.  If  the  burning  ball  of 
electricity  is  irresistible,  the  fatal  grasp  of  the 
lion  is  no  less  fatal  to  animals ;  if  its  flash  is 
more  vivid,  the  angry  glare  of  his  eye  is  more 
terrible  to  encounter.  The  terror  of  all  beasts, 
and  undisputed  monarch  of  the  forest,  he  roams 
from  jungle  to  jungle  and  knows  no  fear. 

"But  the  skill  of  the  hunter  sends  a  bullet 
through  the  organs  of  thought,  judgment,  and 
will  in  that  self-reliant  head :  one  terrific  bound, 
one  desperate  sweep  of  those  huge  paws  in  a 
vain  effort  to  tear  the  earth  from  its  centre,  and 
down  goes  the  carcass  of  that  fearful  monarch 
of  the  forest,  stark,  by  the  huge  rock  on  which 
he  has  so  often  gamboled. 

"A  few  spasmodic  surges,  convulsive  tremors, 
and  he  stretches  himself  on  the  ground,  an  im- 
movable mass  of  terrestrial  matter.  Those  gleam- 
ing orbs  are  glazed  and  sightless,  and  those  ter- 
rible limbs  are  stiffened  with  the  chill  of  death. 
Still,  even  that  lifeless  frame  is  an  admirable 
statue  of  animal  force  and  unquestioned  courage, 
and  his  slayer  approaches  even  his  lifeless  corpse 
with  fear,  and  springs  back  at  the  slightest  tre- 
mor of  his  departing  life. 

"What  made  his  voice  more  terrible  than 


thunder,  his  spring  more  fatal  than  its  bolt,  and 
where  is  it  gone  ? 

"Since  the  departure  of  the  soul,  the  intelli- 
gent motive  power  which  was  driven  out  of  that 
muscular  structure  by  the  derangement  of  the 
machinery  of  the  mind  on  which  it  operated  and 
performed  those  appalling  strains  in  the  great 
drama  of  life,  that  terrible  structure  of  animal 
life  is  as  harmless  as  a  marble  statue,  and  is 
soon  decomposed  by  the  chemical  elements  which 
surround  it. 

"For  an  hour  after  its  departure  the  carcass 
remains  warm  and  pliable.  Every  limb  is  per- 
fect, not  a  muscle  of  the  body  is  injured ;  only 
the  organ  of  will  is  unstrung,  and  the  spiritual 
operator  departed.  And  such  an  operator  !  Is 
his  knowledge  obliterated  ?  Has  a  leaden  mis- 
sile annihilated  a  decree  of  the  Almighty,  and 
decomposed  a  celestial  volition  ? — or  has  it  only 
released  an  immortal  soul  from  the  prison-house 
of  a  terrestrial  body,  and  given  it  a  passport  to 
the  sublime  joy  of  its  eternal  existence  ?" 

In  the  last  sentence  the  writer  has  touched 
upon  the  central  idea  of  this  book — namely,  the 
possession  by  animals  of  an  immortal  soul.  The 
reader  may  remark  that  at  page  14  I  have  cited 
the  important  passage  of  Ecclesiastes,  in  which 
a  spirit  is  assigned  to  the  beasts  as  well  as  to 
man.  Now  the  very  fact  that  man  can  trans- 
mit his  ideas  to  the  lower  animals  is  a  proof  that 
they  must  possess  a  spirit  which  is  able  to  com- 
municate with  the  spirit  of  man.  When,  for 
example,  a  man  gives  an  order  to  his  dog,  and 
is  obeyed,  he  affords  a  proof  that  both  possess 
spirits,  similar  in  quality,  though  differing  in 
degree.  To  give  an  order  to  a  plant  would  be 
useless  and  absurd,  because  the  plant  has  no 
spirit  which  can  respond  to  the  spirit  of  the  man. 
But  the  spirit  of  the  dog  can  and  does  respond 
to  the  spirit  of  the  man — and  the  two  will  equal- 
ly live,  each  on  its  proper  plane,  after  the  earthly 
body  has  been  resolved  into  its  elements. 

One  of  our  poets  has  rightly  said — 

"Man  never  dies :  the  body  dies  from  off  him ;" 

and  this  is  equally  true  of  man  and  beast.  The 
change  which  we  call  death  is  but  a  more  rapid 
disengagement  of  the  spirit  from  the  body  than 
that  which  is  perpetually  taking  place.  The  body 
is  unceasingly  separating  itself  from  the  spirit, 
and  whether  in  the  waking  or  sleeping  hours  the 
earthly  particles  which  the  spirit  has  accreted 
around  itself  are  constantly  being  thrown  off. 
In  fact,  the  death  of  the  body  is  ever  with  us, 
and  is  a  necessary  concomitant  of  the  temporary 
connection  between  the  immortal  spirit  and  the 
material  world. 


142 


MAN  AND  BEAST. 


We  now  advance  one  more  step. 

We  all  know  that  spirit  can  not  act  directly 
upon  matter,  and  vice  versa.  The  earthly  eye, 
for  example,  can  not  see  spiritual  objects.  But 
the  spiritual  eye,  which  gives  force  and  potency 
to  the  optic  nerves  of  the  material  eye,  can  do  so 
if  the  outer  veil  of  flesh  be  for  a  while  removed. 
Take,  for  example,  a  few  instances  of  such  ex- 
tended vision  as  given  in  the  Scriptures.  First, 
there  is  the  case  of  Elisha's  servant,  whose  spir- 
itual eyes  were  opened,  i.  e.,  enabled  to  pierce 
through  the  veil  of  the  flesh,  and  who  was  ena- 
bled to  see  the  hosts  of  spiritual  beings  by  whom 
the  place  was  surrounded.  Similarly,  when  the 
shepherds  saw  the  angels  who  announced  the 
birth  of  Christ,  and  when  the  three  apostles  saw 
Moses  and  Elijah,  they  saw  these  spiritual  beings 
with  the  eye  of  the  spirit,  and  not  with  that  of 
the  flesh. 

There  are,  as  we  know,  many  persons  who  can 
not  believe  that,  as  they  put  it,  the  living  should 
be  able  to  see  the  dead.  Neither  do  I  believe  it. 
But  as  the  spirit  lives,  though  the  material  body 
no  longer  inclose  it,  surely  there  can  be  no  dif- 
ficulty in  believing  that  the  living  spirit  within 
an  earthly  body  may  see  a  living  spirit  which 
has  escaped  from  its  material  garment.  We  do 
not  doubt  that  after  the  death  of  the  body  the 
spirit  will  live  and  see  other  spirits  similarly 
freed  from  earth,  and  it  is  no  very  great  matter 
that  the  living  should  see  the  living,  though  one 
be  still  enshrined  in  its  earthly  tabernacle,  and 
the  other  released  from  it. 

This  being  granted — and  it  is  not  very  much 
to  grant — it  necessarily  follows  that  if  the  lower 
animals  possess  spirit,  they  may  be  capable  of 
spiritual  as  well  as  material  vision.  That  they 
do  possess  this  power,  and  that  it  can  be  exer- 
cised, is  shown  by  the  story  of  Balaam.  There 
we  find  it  definitely  stated,  not  only  that  the  ass 
saw  the  angel,  but  that  she  saw  him  long  before 
her  master  did.  Now  the  angel,  being  a  spirit- 
ual being,  could  only  be  seen  with  the  spiritual 
eye ;  and  it  therefore  follows  that,  unless  the 
story  be  completely  false,  the  animal  possessed 
a  spirit,  and  saw  with  the  eye  of  that  spirit. 

I  should  think  that  none  who  believe  in  the 
truth  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  (and  I  again  remind 
the  reader  that  this  book  is  only  intended  for 
those  who  do  so),  could  doubt  that  here  is  a 
case  which  proves  that  the  spirit  of  the  ass  was 
capable  of  seeing  and  fearing  the  spiritual  angel. 
And  if  that  be  granted,  I  do  not  see  how  any  one 
can  doubt  that  the  spirit  which  saw  the  angel 
partook  of  his  immortality,  just  as  her  outward 
eye,  which  saw  material  objects,  partook  of  their 
mortality.  Shortly  afterward  the  eyes  of  the 


prophet  were  opened,  and  he  also  saw  the  angel ; 
but  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  eyes  of  the 
beast  had  been  opened  first,  and  that  she,  her 
master,  and  the  angel  met  for  the  time  in  the 
same  spiritual  plane. 

I  have  for  a  long  time  had  in  my  possession 
a  letter  from  a  lady,  in  which  she  narrates  a 
personal  adventure  which  has  a  singularly  close 
resemblance  to  the  Scriptural  story  of  Balaam. 
It  had  been  told  me  immediately  after  I  threw 
out  my  "feeler"  in  the  "Common  Objects  of 
the  Country."  As  I  had  at  that  time  the  inten- 
tion of  vindicating  the  immortality  of  the  lower 
animals,  I  requested  the  narrator  to  write  it,  so 
that  I  might  possess  the  statement  authenticated 
in  her  own  handwriting. 

At  the  time  of  the  occurrence,  the  lady  and 
her  mother  were  living  in  an  old  country  chateau 
in  France. 

"  It  was  during  the  winter  of  18 —  that  one 
evening  I  happened  to  be  sitting  by  the  side  of 
a  cheerful  fire  in  my  bedroom,  busily  engaged 
in  caressing  a  favorite  cat — the  illustrious  Lady 
Catharine,  now,  alas !  no  more.  She  lay  in  a 
pensive  attitude  and  a  winking  state  of  drow- 
siness in  my  lap. 

"Although  my  room  might  have  been  with- 
out candles,  it  was  perfectly  illuminated  by  the 
light  of  the  fire.  There  were  two  doors — one 
behind  me,  leading  into  an  apartment  which  had 
been  locked  for  the  winter,  and  another  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  room,  which  communicated 
with  the  passage. 

"Mamma  had  not  left  me  many  minutes,  and 
the  high-backed,  old-fashioned  arm-chair,  which 
she  had  occupied,  remained  vacant  at  the  oppo- 
site corner  of  the  fire-place.  Puss,  who  lay  with 
her  head  on  my  arm,  became  more  and  more 
sleepy,  and  I  pondered  on  the  propriety  of  pre- 
paring for  bed. 

"  Of  a  sudden  I  became  aware  that  some- 
thing had  affected  my  pet's  equanimity.  The 
purring  ceased,  and  she  exhibited  rapidly  in- 
creasing symptoms  of  uneasiness.  I  bent  down, 
and  endeavored  to  coax  her  into  quietness  ;  but 
she  instantly  struggled  to  her  feet  in  my  lap,  and, 
spitting  vehemently,  with  back  arched  and  tail 
swollen,  she  assumed  a  mingled  attitude  of  terror 
and  defiance. 

"The  change  in  her  position  obliged  me  to 
raise  my  head  ;  and  on  looking  up,  to  my  inex- 
pressible horror,  I  then  perceived  that  a  little, 
hideous,  wrinkled  old  hag  occupied  mamma's 
chair.  Her  hands  were  rested  on  her  knees, 
and  her  body  was  stooped  forward  so  as  to  bring 
her  face  in  close  proximity  with  ,mine.  Her 
eyes,  piercingly  fierce  and  shining  with  an  over- 


THE  FUTURE  STATE. 


143 


powering  lustre,  were  steadfastly  fixed  on  me. 
It  was  as  if  a  fiend  were  glaring  at  me  through 
them.  Her  dress  and  general  appearance  de- 
noted her  to  belong  to  the  French  bourgeoisie; 
but  those  eyes,  so  wonderfully  large,  and  in  their 
expression  so  intensely  wicked,  entirely  absorbed 
my  senses,  and  precluded  any  attention  to  detail. 
1  should  have  screamed,  but  my  breath  was  gone 
while  that  terrible  gaze  so  horribly  fascinated 
me :  I  could  neither  withdraw  my  eyes  nor  rise 
from  my  seat. 

"I had  meanwhile  been  trying  to  keep  a  tight 
hold  on  the  cat,  but  she  seemed  resolutely  deter- 
mined not  to  remain  in  such  ugly  neighborhood, 
and,  after  some  most  desperate  efforts,  at  length 
succeeded  in  escaping  from  my  grasp.  Leaping 
over  tables,  chairs,  and  all  that  came  in  her  way, 
she  repeatedly  threw  herself,  with  frightful  vio- 
lence, against  the  top  panel  of  the  door  which 
communicated  with  the  disused  room.  Then,  re- 
turning in  the  same  frantic  manner,  she  furious- 
ly dashed  against  the  door  on  the  opposite  side. 

"My  terror  was  divided,  and  I  looked  by 
turns,  now  at  the  old  woman,  whose  great  star- 
ing eyes  were  constantly  fixed  on  me,  and  now 
at  the  cat,  who  was  becoming  every  instant  more 
frantic.  At  last  the  dreadful  idea  that  the  ani- 
mal had  gone  mad  had  the  effect  of  restoring 
my  breath,  and  I  screamed  loudly. 

"  Mamma  ran  in  immediately,  and  the  cat, 
on  the  door  opening,  literally  sprang  over  her 
head,  and  for  upward  of  half  an  hour  ran  up 
and  down  stairs  as  if  pursued.  I  turned  to 
point  to  the  object  of  my  terror  :  it  was  gone. 
Under  such  circumstances  the  lapse  of  time  is 
difficult  to  appreciate,  but  I  should  think  that 
the  apparition  lasted  about  four  or  five  minutes. 

"Some  time  afterward  it  transpired  that  a 
former  proprietor  of  the  house,  a  woman,  had 
hanged  herself  in  that  very  room." 

The  close  but  evidently  unsuspected  resem- 
blance of  this  narrative  to  the  story  of  Balaam 
is  worthy  of  notice.  In  both  cases  we  have  the 
remarkable  fact  that  the  animal  was  the  first  to 
see  the  spiritual  being,  and  to  show  by  its  terri- 
fied actions  that  it  had  done  so. 


There  are  but  a  few  words  to  be  said  by  way 
of  epilogue. 

Some  of  the  objections  that  have  been  made 
to  the  future  life  of  the  lower  animals  have  al- 
ready been  mentioned,  but  there  are  two  others 
which  I  must  briefly  notice.  One  is  that,  if  all 
created  beings  are  to  live  eternally  in  heaven, 
there  would  not  be  room  for  them.  I  feel  al- 
most ashamed  even  to  mention  such  an  absurd 
notion,  but  as  it  has  been  put  forward  by  several 
persons  I  feel  bound  to  notice  it. 

The  answer  is  self-evident.  In  the  first  place, 
in  the  spiritual  world  space  and  time  do  not  ex- 
ist ;  and  even  if  they  did,  surely  God  can  create 
space,  if  he  has  need  of  it. 

The  second  objection  is  that  by  granting  im- 
mortality to  the  animals  we  lower  the  condition 
of  humanity  ;  but  if  the  animals  be  immortal 
there  is  surely  no  use  in  denying  it.  We  can 
not  shirk  a  fact,  and  even  if  we  could  we  ought 
not  to  do  so.  Such  an  argument,  moreover,  is 
not  very  creditable  to  humanity,  for  it  seeks  to 
elevate  man  by  depreciating  his  fellow-creatures 
of  a  lower  order. 

In  announcing  my  belief  that  the  lower  ani- 
mals share  immortality  with  man  in  the  next 
world,  as  they  share  mortality  in  this,  I  do  not 
claim  for  them  the  slightest  equality.  Man  will 
be  man,  and  beast  will  be  beast,  and  insect  will 
be  insect,  in  the  next  world  as  in  this.  They  are 
living  exponents  of  divine  ideas,  as  is  evident 
from  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  will  be  wanted  to 
continue  in  the  world  of  spirit  the  work  which 
they  have  begun  in  the  world  of  matter. 

But,  though  I  do  not  claim  for  them  the 
slightest  equality  with  man,  I  do  claim  for  them 
a  higher  status  in  creation  than  is  generally  at- 
tributed to  them  ;  I  do  claim  for  them  a  future 
life,  in  which  they  can  be  compensated  for  the 
sufferings  which  so  many  of  them  have  to  un- 
dergo in  this  world  ;  and  I  do  so  chiefly  because 
I  am  quite  sure  that  most  of  the  cruelties  which 
are  perpetrated  on  the  animals  are  due  to  the  hab- 
it of  considering  them  as  mere  machines,  with- 
out susceptibilities,  without  reason,  and  without 
the  capacity  of  a  future. 


THE     END. 


UNIVEESTTY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY, 
BERKELEY 

THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 

Books  not  returned  on  time  are  subject  to  a  fine  of 
50c  per  volume  after  the  third  day  overdue,  increasing 
to  $1.00  per  volume  after  the  sixth  day.  Books  not  in 
demand  may  be  renewed  if  application  is  made  before 
expiration  of  loan  period. 


FED 
SEP 


1325 

Y  1951 
9  1957 


„ 

"  \  "X 


CO 

L^l 

13 


INTERLIBRAFO 

JUL  2  3  1 
JNiV. 


IflK* 

99? 


lSm-12/24 


LIBRARY 
G 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


•i 


